Flicker
by KudaKano
Summary: Years after the events of the movie a new enemy called 'Flicker' has appeared to cause trouble for the guardians, but for some reason he is completely obsessed with Jack Frost. Possible Pairings Flicker x Jack, Bunny x Jack, Jamie x Jack.
1. Chapter 1

**Takes place a few years after the movie. Its rated M for future chapters.**

* * *

Toothiana loved her job now more than ever.

After collecting teeth with Jack and the other Guardians, she realized just how much she missed seeing all the children as they slept in bed, waiting for the Tooth Fairy to exchange their teeth for a shiny coin.

And now she was there herself, collecting teeth while fondly watching the children sleep.

She allowed herself a few moments to smile and gaze upon the little face of a sleeping Japanese toddler who just lost her first baby tooth. _Lost from the first bite of an apple to be precise._

'_Such a precious thing, she takes such good care of her teeth.' _She thought.

_'So young and she already flosses on a daily basis.'_

The moment was ruined however, as a mini fairy zipped in hurriedly through the window, accidently knocking into the glass before flying frantically in front of Tooth's face.

"What is it? Shouldn't you be on your way to Brazil?" she whispered scoldingly.

The little fairly hovered up to murmur in her ear and Tooth's eyes widened at what the little hummingbird had to say.

* * *

Tooth's palace was in chaos.

Mini fairies flew around frantically as balls of fire blasted against pillars, leaving beautiful pink designs burned in black.

The culprit strolled merrily along, fire arising from his body as he admired the palace's design.

"What a beautiful place." His voice was low and raspy and smoke escaped from his throat with each word.

"A bit too much water than I would prefer though." He said as he looked down one of the ledges to peer at the waterfalls below.

The mini fairies were trying to distract him by pecking at his face, but he would simply blow fire around himself with a swipe of his arm, forcing them to flee each time to avoid the flames.

The man laughed as he watched a few of the fairy's feathers burn up as they flew away.

He caught one of them between his fingers and examined it.

"Now calm down little bee, I just want one thing. If you show me where it is, then i'll leave you all alone."

The little fairy, which happened to be Babytooth, struggled against the man's hot and burning grasp.

"Stop struggling now, just show me where I can find Jack Frost's memories."

Babytooth's eyes widened and she struggled harder, trying with all her might to escape the cage of hot fingers around her.

The man laughed hard until he heard a loud voice echo through the palace.

"And just what do you want with those?"

The flaming man turned around to see the Tooth Fairy herself, floating high above him, a look of anger across her face.

"Ah, there she is! The flying peacock with all the answers!"

Tooth continued to glare.

She had never seen this man before but it was clear that he wasn't human.

He had ear-length red hair that jutted out at the sides. He wore a tattered orange, sleeve-less shirt and a pair of baggy blue jeans, with black shoes poking out.

He was as tall as Bunnymund and had flames dancing off of his hair and shoulders.

He grinned up at her with yellow eyes. Eyes that withheld a fiery sadistic look.

"Who are you? And what do you want with the memories?" She asked carefully.

The strange man looked very powerful, and Tooth wasn't one to tamper with fire, however she wasn't about to let some stranger waltz in and do harm to any of the teeth or her fairies.

"Doesn't matter who I am." He replied with a laugh. He looked completely at ease as he leaned back with his hands in his jean pockets.

"And its only _Jack Frost's_ memories I care about."

Tooth's brow furrowed. '_Why is this man interested in Jack?'_

"The memories can only be seen by the ones they belong to. You have no right to be here." Her voice was loud and threatening.

The man's smile faded and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Now leave this instant or I won't go easy on you." Tooth stated.

The man looked irritated now and the flames on his shoulders grew, seeming to react with his emotions rather than his movements.

Then he held the injured fairy in front of him for Tooth to see.

"Oh!" Tooth gasped in surprise, hands reaching forward when she saw Babytooth struggling in the man's fist.

He smiled menacingly at the Tooth Fairy's reaction and gave the hummingbird a good squeeze. While he petted her little head with a fiery finger.

Babytooth shrieked in pain and Tooth began flying forward but halted when the man held a flaming fist right above the fairy's body.

"Now then, nobody has to get hurt, just show me where I can-"

_Wham!_

The man was cut off as a giant ball of ice slammed _hard_ into his side, sending him flying off the ledge of the palace.

Babytooth flew out of the man's grasp and landed in the palm of Jack Frost, who floated downwards from above the palace until his bare feet touched the pink floor.

"Oh Jack!" Tooth flew towards him, wanting hug the daylights out of him, but she stopped short when she saw him glaring at the man who had fallen.

Now the flaming person was standing on a fireball that was hovering in the air, looking up at Jack with a smile.

"Are you okay, Babytooth?"

He asked as he turned his gaze away from the man and back to the little burnt up fairy in his palm.

The humming bird nodded it's head and sighed in delight as jack's hands cooled her aching burns.

He gently set the fairy in Tooth's hands as she flew up to him in worry.

"Just leave this guy to me, Tooth."

She nodded and watched as he walked off the edge and hovered in front of the enemy.

Tooth now noticed that a cold wind along with snow had picked up around them at Jack Frost's entrance.

Tooth examined her fairy before turning her gaze back to Jack.

He had gotten so much stronger in his few years as a guardian. He had millions of believes all around the world and his strength was amazing. If Pitch were to fight Jack now, the nightmare king wouldn't stand a chance.

The flaming man in front of Jack straightened himself up and adjusted his shirt as he continued to balance on his ball of fire.

"What's wrong Jack, are you still mad that I melted your snow?"

"That snow has been replaced." Jack said simply, aiming his staff at the man's head.

"Now I'm mad because you hurt my friend!" Jack's staff glowed and shot out and bright streak of ice straight for the man.

The flaming spirit's face looked panic stricken as he leaped off the fireball, which immediately went out as the ice struck it. He soon recovered though as his legs and feet turned into flames, allowing him to hover in place like a rocket.

The man grinned up sadistically at Jack, and Tooth shuddered.

'_That look.' _Tooth thought. _"Why is he looking at Jack like that?"_

The flaming man was eyeing Jack's body, gaze running from the snow spirit's face down to the bottom of his feet again and again.

He looked…hungry.

Tooth's feathers ruffled in worry and she glanced at Jack, but he didn't seem at all distracted by the man's expression.

"I forgave you for melting my snow and destroying my icelings, but if you hurt any one else I'll blow you out like a candle!"

It had been a long time since Tooth had seen Jack as angry as he was now. Though it _had_ been awfully calm since Pitch's defeat.

"Oh… Jack Frost is gonna put me out!"

Tooth was still puzzled by this man. He didn't speak at all mockingly towards Jack, if anything he seemed excited at the statement and his eyes seemed to glow even brighter.

The cool wind grew stronger around them and the flaming spirit's grin melted as he looked around. The icy surroundings were causing his flames to diminish and he seemed to have trouble maintaining altitude as his flaming feet burned out against the wind.

Jack really was going to put him out.

The man smiled at Jack again, this time faking innocence.

"Come on Jackie! I just got lost, I was exploring and ended up at the Tooth Fairy's place and couldn't help but take a look at-"

He was cut off again as a giant icicle barely missed his head.

Jack was already forming more; ready to strike them through the man's body.

The flame spirit huffed and sunk down lower.

"Okay, you're mad, I get it, but you'll forgive me later!"

He ducked as a shard of ice went sailing for his head, then he shot downwards and towards the east, melting into the darkness of the mountains nearby.

Jack shot forward to follow him but halted when he heard Tooth call his name.

He stared at the mountains for a moment to make sure the man had disappeared then flew back up to the palace.

Tooth flew over and gave him a hug, which made him smile and hug her back.

"It's okay now." he said. "Is everyone alright?"

He looked around as the little fairies swarmed them. Some of them had blackened, burn feathers but were flying just fine.

"They're all okay. Jack did you know that person?" Tooth asked, concern lacing her words.

Jack looked at Babytooth who had flown into his hand and he chilled his palm to help cool down her burns.

"Kind of. He calls himself Flicker. He's been harassing me for months now, melting my ice and stuff…but I never thought he would do anything like this."

He gestured to the palace, which was covered in black marks from fire.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you guys about him from the start."

Tooth smiled and hugged him again. "Oh don't even apologize! I'm just grateful you came here to stop him. I can't say I have a lot of experience with fire."

She pulled away and put a hand to her chin in thought. "Flicker? I have never heard of anyone by that name."

"Where do you think he came from, Tooth?" Jack asked her.

"I don't know, but I think if he is going to cause trouble to Guardians we should go speak with the others."

"You don't want to stay and take care of things here?" he asked.

She shook her head. "The palace will be alright, and the fairies can take care of things for a while. Right now my duty as a guardian is more important."

Jack nodded and held his staff up. I began glowing blue at the tip and slowly, a bird made out of ice formed then broke off and began flying around them in circles.

Tooth watched in amazement. She loved the animals Jack made out of ice, something he had started doing soon after becoming a guardian.

Jack touched a finger to it and it suddenly switched direction and headed downwards into the mountains.

"I sent it to fetch Bunnymund, can you get Sandy?"

Tooth nodded and spoke to one of her fairies before it flew off into the sky.

"Alright girls! Lets get our feathers together! I need ten of you in Brazil and five in London!"

Tooth continued barking orders and listing off types of teeth.

Jack waited for her to finish, and then she hovered in front of him excitedly.

"To the North Pole then!" Tooth stated.

* * *

The flaming spirit grumbled to himself as he rested his head on one of his palms, watching Jack talk to that annoying pile of feathers.

He was perched behind a rock on one of the mountains, watching the spirit of winter intently.

"Well Jack's memories are out of the question."

His side still ached and he definitely wasn't going to try breaking into the palace again.

He would have to find some other way to get Frost's attention.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2. I'll try not to let as many grammar errors escape me this time.**

* * *

North was currently in between two yetis, examining what appeared to be a new robot toy design drawn on paper.

Christmas was far away so now they were currently in the creation stage. North used this time to conjure up new ideas for toys that appealed to culture's current interests.

Robots were something a lot of young boys were into recently, but movies have made robots a lot more 'advanced' looking and North knew a lot about toys, but not giant flying robots that could shoot laser beams and lift cars.

He was having a bit of trouble keeping up with the world's upgrade in technology. He only recently looked into the human's use of 'cell phones'.

But why would a guardian need a phone when he could communicate with magic?

Nonetheless if its advanced, _technological_ looking toys the children wanted then North would conform.

He often used both his own and the Yeti's designs for toys, sometimes even combining them together.

However, the design North was staring at now was not going to work.

"No, no, no, this will not do, start over! Less pointy objects!"

He ripped the paper down the middle and both Yetis began complaining.

"Harblo harga flahba!"

North walked away from the Yetis but halted when he felt a familiar vibration under his feet.

He stroked his beard thoughtfully then followed the movement into the globe room.

He walked into the center and stopped right where he knew a rabbit tunnel would open then waited a few seconds.

Suddenly a hole appeared and Bunnymund's form shot upwards through it. The giant rabbit yelled in surprise upon seeing North's face just a few inches from his own.

"Jesus mate! Watch where you're walking!"

"Bunny, my friend! What brings you to de Pole?" North spread his arms in welcome.

The Pooka stomped his foot to cover up his tunnel then held up a bird made of ice for North to see.

"Ahh yes…" he leaned forward to gaze at the beautiful creature.

He could see a slight blue glow from the center of the bird's body, which could only be Jack Frost's magic.

"Icelings he calls them?"

Bunny nodded. "The thing was flying around me and tugging me in your direction."

North laughed and grinned widely.

He had seen hundreds of Jack's ice creatures all around the world, monitoring children in places where it wasn't even winter.

Jack had become such a responsible and powerful guardian, North couldn't be more proud.

Bunny looked around the room and frowned when all he saw was North and a few elves.

"Well clearly you made a mistake since Jack isn't here." Bunny spoke to the little bird in his hand.

The creature's glassy face looked around curiously then back up at Bunnymund before ruffling its icy feathers.

"Oh ho! Is that disappointment I seen in your face, Bunny?"

North gave him a knowing smile.

Bunnymund glared at him. "Shut it."

The spirit of wonder chuckled loudly.

Bunnymund and Jack had gotten a lot closer after defeating Pitch. They still liked to pick on each other sometimes in front of the others, but when they were alone they often talked more seriously.

Bunny soon saw Jack as a close friend, but then Jack began visiting him in his Warren personally, just to talk or hang out.

Eventually the boy's presence caused a warm little feeling in the Pokka's chest and he began noticing little things, like how beautifully blue Jack's eyes were, or the pale smoothness of his skin.

He dismissed the feeling as a ridiculous and unexpected crush, something that would only distract him from his job as a guardian, and the Easter Bunny.

Besides, when he tried to picture himself and Jack together as a couple, it was just silly looking.

They had way too many physical differences.

However, he still allowed himself to stare at jack when they were all together and unfortunately, North noticed right away.

He figured it was because of North being the spirit of _wonder_ and seeing all of what is special or whatever… He just thanked his stars that the man had enough decency not to point it out in front of the others.

"Perhaps this means Jack is coming for a visit." North said as he looked around, half expecting the boy to appear from a corner.

"Nowadays he just visits with one of us personally, is he trying to gather us for some reason?"

North shrugged and offered the Pooka a plate of cookies, which he quickly declined.

"Oh good, you're already here!"

North and Bunny turned as they heard Tooth speak. She flew in closer to them from the entrance, an excited look on her face. Four of her mini fairies were right behind her.

"Tooth! You're here as well?" North welcomed her with his arms out.

"Hey Bunny, you got my message!"

Bunny leaned back too see jack strolling up from behind Tooth.

The ice bird flew out of Bunny's hand and circled around Jack's head.

"Ah! _There_ you are mate!"

Bunny leaped over and leaned on Jack's shoulder while ruffling his white hair wildly.

Jack laughed and tried to push him away.

"There he is!" North bellowed as he walked over to Jack and pulled him off his feet in a massive bear hug.

"H-hey North, been a while-" he struggled to speak as the man squeezed the air out of his lungs.

"Easy now North!" Tooth stated as she tugged on North's arms in an attempt to loosen them. "Jack just got back from a fight and he shouldn't-"

"Fight?" Bunnymund's ear's perked up and his expression filled with concern.

"With who? is he alright?" He stepped closer to them.

North's eyes widened a bit and he held Jack's lanky body away from his to examine it.

"Heh, i'm fine, i'm fine." Jack insisted, holding his palm out in front of him, while the other still held his staff.

North placed him on the ground then put a hand to his chin.

"Who would attack a guardian? Other than- Oh sweet Christmas! Pitch has returned!" He yelled out in a panic.

The elves all looked up then started running around in fear, bells jingling obnoxiously.

Tooth flew forward and placed her hands on North's shoulder to calm him down.

"NO! No, Pitch has _not_ returned. Everything is fine. The nightmare king is gone for good."

The elves silenced themselves then immediately recovered and went back to what they were doing before.

"Then what's this all about?" Bunnymund walked around to face Jack.

"Was it that damn Leprechaun? Did he do something to ya?"

Jack grinned and shook his head. "No it's this… well I was kind of hoping we could wait for Sandy, then I'll explain."

"Sandy is coming?" North asked, his smile retuning.

As if the answer their question a few streams of golden sand suddenly entered the room and Sandy appeared on a cloud with a mini fairy by his shoulder.

"Ah, you two made it alright." Tooth said as the fairy flew to her side.

"Hey Sandy!" Jack flew upwards and gave the dream spirit a quick hug, which Sandy returned with a wide smile.

It really had been a while since they had all seen each other, and Jack was good at bringing out the Guardians' playful feelings.

Sandy hovered to the ground and looked at them all expectantly.

Jack took a deep breath and walked towards the center of the globe room.

"Okay, let me explain who I met a few months ago." He stated.

* * *

"Flicker?" North questioned out loud.

"I have never heard of such a spirit, and you say he can control fire?"

Jack nodded.

He was on his tiptoes, perched at the top of his staff so he could look down on the other guardians, who were currently circled around him.

"Well he must have just recently come into existence if none of us have ever heard of em." Bunny stated.

"Why didn't you tell us before, mate?"

Jack looked down guiltily.

"I…I didn't know he was bad until he attacked Tooth's palace."

"When I first met him, all he did was melt all my snow, but that was easy to replace, and he didn't seem at all mean about it…he just seemed…like he wanted my attention."

Jack paused and looked towards the others.

"To be honest, he kind of reminded me of myself before I became a guardian."

They all nodded in understanding.

"So did you become familiar with him at some point?" Tooth asked.

"Well we didn't talk much besides introducing ourselves… but after he melted my snow the first time, I froze his feet to the ground, and he thought it was funny. Then he melted more of my weather but I just made it snow again, it was like we were playing a game or something…it was kind of fun. And that went on for a few weeks."

"And then?" Bunny asked as Jack paused to think.

"Well then one of my icelings contacted me about a child in Canada. So I left to go see what was up, and Flicker followed me. But I was kind of busy with the kid so I tried to ignore him…and that's when he crushed one of them."

"An iceling?" North questioned.

Jack nodded.

"A squirrel, one I had watching over a sick boy in Italy."

"And that when things started going sour?" Bunny questioned.

Jack nodded again.

"I kind of overreacted, I had never had one of my icelings destroyed before and it was…" He veered off.

Tooth nodded in understanding. She always freaked out when something happened to one of her fairys and she new that Bunnymund and North were just as protective of their eggs and elves.

"Well after that, I attacked him. I don't think I hurt him much, I was just hoping he would go away, and leave me alone."

Jack scratched his head, looking guilty again.

"And then he attacked Tooth's palace..."

Sandy cocked his head to the side and a picture of a tooth with a question mark next to it rose above his head.

"Yeah…why did he attack Tooth anyway?" Bunnymund asked. "Did he just get tired of Jack so he went to go bother another Guardian?"

"Oh!" Tooth suddenly gasped loudly, causing the others to jump.

"What is it Tooth?" North asked as her face lit up in realization.

"Goodness I completely forgot to tell you, Jack!"

She flew up closer to him. "The reason Flicker was there is because he wanted your memories! He demanded that I show him where they were, that's why he held Babytooth hostage."

Jack's eyes widened and he looked confused. "What?"

"Why would he want to see Jack's memories?" North asked, trying to put the pieces together.

"Ah, I think I know." Bunnymund said as he stepped into the circle.

He cleared his throat and the others leaned in, convinced that he was about the answer all of their questions.

"Clearly this bloke has some sort of _messed up _obsession with Jack."

The other guardians frowned, having already known that part.

"Like…secret feelings?" North said with a chuckle, mostly towards Bunny.

The Pooka glared at him hard for a second than looked up at Jack.

"We need to keep this guy away from you, otherwise-"

"Agh!" Jack suddenly clutched his head and floated to the floor, his staff falling behind him with a clang.

"Jack!" Bunnymund jumped forward to catch him, and the others moved closer to see if he was alright.

"What's the matter, mate? Hey, say something."

"Whats wrong Jack? Are you hurt?" Tooth asked as she set a gentle hand on his arm.

Jack was still clutching his head, eyes squeezed shut, but after a second he blinked and let his hand fall away.

"I'm okay, that was just Flicker, he did it again."

"Destroyed one of your ice creatures?" North asked.

Jack nodded, then looked back towards the window, then as the others followed his gaze, a thin streak of blue magic appeared from somewhere far away and rushed back into Jack's body.

Jack put a hand to his chest and stood up.

"Hey." Bunny spoke in a strange gentle voice that wasn't normal for the Pooka.

"Does it _hurt_ you every time one of your creatures is destroyed?"

Jack nodded and forced a smile. "I put a piece of myself inside of them when they are created…it allows them enough power to be intelligent and stay frozen in warm weather but if one of them is broken, it really packs a punch."

Jack tapped on his forehead to emphasize his point.

"What a bastard…" Bunnymund grumbled. They all knew he was referring to Flicker.

"I never knew you were taking such risks in order to watch over the children." North said as he walked over and placed and a large hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Its worth it though." Jack said with a grin.

North smiled down proudly at him.

"How often is this fella breaking those icelings of yours?" Bunny asked.

"He does it at random… but he has destroyed about thirty of them so far."

Jack tried not to look so unhappy as he thought about his creatures being broken.

"And it hurts you every time he does it, huh? Well that's enough information for me, okay guys were gonna take this guy down. North tell your yetis to gather up some water buckets, I'm gonna go-"

"Bunny, Bunny!" North cut him off.

"We can't just go out and fight when we don't even know what were dealing with, or what the circumstances are!"

"I think we should speak with the Man in the Moon before we decide on anything." Tooth added.

"So we're just gonna stand here and wait till night time while that fire headed maniac is out breaking Jack's ice and finding ways to-"

He was cut off a second time when they all saw Jack's chest begin to glow a bright blue.

"Jack looked down at himself in surprise. "Oh, hang on a second."

He put a palm over his chest and closed his eyes. He looked like he was focusing on something.

"What is…he doing?" Bunny asked.

"I think he might be talking to one of his ice creatures." North suggested.

"Did you guys know he could do that?" Tooth asked.

Suddenly Jack's head shot up. His eyes were wide with a fearful expression plastered on his face.

"What is it?" Tooth asked, sounding concerned.

Jack seemed frozen in place as the glowing in his chest stopped.

"Hey mate, your freaking us out a bit." Bunny said warily.

"I-" Jack stuttered.

"I gotta go!" Jack made the window fly open with wind then he shot himself out of it, his body disappearing towards the south almost instantly.

"Wait Jack! What's going on?" North yelled out the window as they watched him disappear.

"Something must have happened." Tooth stated, feathers ruffling uncomfortably.

"I'll go after him," Bunny said as he opened up one of his tunnels.

"I'll see if everything is alright, if not then I'll send a message to you guys right away." Bunny stated.

The others nodded in agreement, though they felt reluctant to stay.

Bunny leaped down into his tunnel and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3. **

**Thank you all for bearing with this story. I just read over the last two chapters I submitted and cringed at all the errors I found. I probably should have read over them better, rather than just get all excited that the chapter was done and submit it immediately. **

**A person called "JanyeLynn" gave me some good critiques, which I really appreciate. I tend to write these things on impulse and to be honest, I'm pretty good at putting a story together, but not the actual 'writing part.' I actually have very little experience with writing. :) But since it looks like some people actually like this story I think ill go over the last few chapters and correct any errors I find. Might rearrange a few sentences and add more descriptions where I find necessary.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. I'll try to write better and make use of critiques. **

**And Jamie is in this chapter :P**

* * *

Jack looked around frantically when his feet met black pavement.

He had flown as quickly as he could to his hometown, but now his movements were slow and cautious as he pattered carefully up the driveway of Jamie's house, staff at the ready.

Upon reaching the corner, he took a deep breath then peeked his head around, heart beating rapidly.

The yard was empty.

He frowned and walked onto the grass just under Jamie's bedroom window.

A slight cooing sound brought him out of focus and he looked up to see a frozen owl perched on a branch, staring at him with clear eyes.

"You sent me an image of Flicker standing right _here_." Jack stated while he pointed to the ground under his feet. He was talking up at the owl like it was a toddler.

The creature just spun its head around in all directions then cooed again.

Jack sighed and tried to slow his rapidly beating heart. He didn't know why he had gotten so worked up…probably just finding out that this Flicker guy was actually willing to hurt people, then to see an image of him right outside of Jamie's window.

That had been scary.

'_Would he really hurt a child?_' Jack thought.

'_Ah, but technically Jamie is a teenager now.'_

He smiled faintly as he gazed up at Jamie's window.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence that he was here…maybe he was just wandering by…taking a shortcut." The idea sounded very unlikely as Jack said it out loud.

Was it really a coincidence that the one time one of his icelings spotted Flicker outside of a child's window happened to be the kid that Jack was closest to? The one he visited the most often and was the very first child to believe in him?

Jack bit his bottom lip and leapt off the ground. He peered into Jamie's bedroom window but the boy's room was empty.

"_Oh,_ thats_ right, he has school today."_

Jack looked around, then kicked off the side of the house and flew into the woods.

He searched around the entire forest, and then flew by each and every house to see if Flicker was nearby.

He found nothing. Just a few kids that were skipping school, and a homeless old man sleeping by a dumpster.

Jack returned to Jamie's house then perched on top of his chimney in thought.

Flicker had never shown any interest in children when he had first appeared. He was invisible to them, but it didn't look like he even cared. He hadn't acknowledged their presence either.

But Flicker had attacked tooth's palace because of _him_. Apparently the man had wanted to steal his memories, _for who knows what reason_.

If Flicker ended up hurting a child just to get a reaction of him, Jack would be devastated.

"_Or if he did something to Jamie."_

Jack shook his head and then jumped when he heard a sound from below.

A hole appeared in the ground of Jamie's yard and two gray ears popped out.

Jack let out a breath when he saw Bunnymund hop out and survey the area.

_'Why am i so jumpy?'_

"Ah, there you are!" Bunny said with relief as Jack floated down from the roof and landed in front of him.

Bunny set a firm hand on his shoulder and examined his face warily.

"Everything okay, mate? Did something happen?" He asked, voice a little frantic.

"You just disappeared all of the sudden, you made us worry."

Jack looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry, I think I overreacted."

Bunnymund stared at the boy.

Jack's body was stiff and his face was off…something had definitely spooked him, and somehow the Pokka didn't like the fact that they were at Jamie's house.

The look on Jack's face made Bunny wanted to pull the boy close and squeeze him tight.

"What happened?" Bunny asked gently.

Jack scratched the back of his head awkwardly but concern still held true in all of his features.

"I…think Flicker was here."

Bunny's eyes widened. "_Here_?" he asked while pointing a finger at the ground.

Jack nodded and looked up at the frozen owl sitting on the tree nearby.

Bunny followed his gaze and understood.

The Pooka started looking around them quickly, hands reaching for his boomerangs out of habit.

"He's gone now!" Jack said, holding his hands up to calm his friend.

"He wasn't here when I arrived, and I searched the whole town for him…I don't know where he went…but…"

Jack trailed off and Bunnymund nodded.

"Alright, but it still bothers me that he was here. Does he know that you're close to Jamie?"

"I…don't know. He never really paid any attention to the kids whenever I saw him…" Jack trailed off again, trying to remember the past months with Flicker more accurately.

"But if this bloke has been _stalking_ you, then it's a good chance he has seen you and Jamie together."

Jack wasn't going to deny it. He wasn't sure if Flicker had been stalking him, but after seeing the crazed flame spirit at tooth's palace, he wasn't going to take any chances.

He suddenly felt very guilty. Jamie was at risk now because of he hadn't handled this thing with Flicker to begin with.

"Do you know if he has been seen around any other children?" Bunny asked.

Jack thought for a moment then shook his head.

"Then that just proves my point. Jack, this guy is using everything at his disposal to get close to you and I don't wanna know what he plans to do if he gets his hands on ya."

Jack nodded but found it strange that Bunny's tone had changed on that last sentence.

"We need to keep him _away_ from you, we're gonna speak with Manny tonight and afterwards, I think you should keep close to one of us until this whole Flicker thing is worked out."

Jack nodded again. He knew that Bunny wasn't trying to treat him like a kid in anyway, as thought he couldn't handle things on his own. He was just worried.

"Okay, that sounds good." Jack replied.

Bunny nodded back, but as he stared at the winter spirit, he saw the boy bite his bottom lip, then shoot continuous glances at Jamie's window.

"But…" Bunny began with a sigh.

"Since this just happened, maybe you should stay here to watch over Jamie while we speak with Manny ourselves."

Jack smiled at that and the way the boy's eyes shown made the Pooka's face heat up.

"Just be sure to stay here and I'll come get you after we're done with Manny."

Bunny said, shaking his head a bit to clear his thoughts.

"You don't want me to just fly back?" Jack asked with a chuckle.

"I don't want to take any chances." Bunny said, and the seriousness in his tone made Jack stop laughing.

"Thank you Bunny." Jack said quietly with honest sincerity in his voice.

The Pooka nodded and placed both his hands on Jack's shoulders.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna let this fiery freak do anything to you…or Jamie." He added with a glance towards the window above them.

"Me neither." Jack said, having only paid attention to the 'protecting Jamie' part.

Bunny sighed and opened up a tunnel.

"By the way," Jack began. "How did you know where to find me so fast?"

"Oh, right." Bunny replied.

He looked down into the tunnel and after a few moments the ice bird from before flew out and perched on bunny's shoulder.

"This thing seems to have a connection with you." Bunny stated.

Jack smiled and laughed. "I think you should keep him Bunny, he seems to like you anyway."

Bunny looked at the little bird's face then scratched his chin.

"Well, he might be of some use to me…I suppose I can take him off your hands."

In actuality, Bunny was suddenly very fond of the gift. The idea of having a way to keep track of Jack at all times pleased him greatly. Besides, the little bird actually _reminded_ him of Jack in a few ways.

"Alright, so I'll see you guys after you talk to the Man in the Moon." Jack confirmed.

"And remember to stay _here_." Bunny stated with emphasis.

"And I'll be right back to get you."

"Yeah, yeah." Jack was pretending to shoo him away now, causing the rabbit to mock a look of hurt.

He leaped into the hole of his tunnel, but stuck the top of his head out and stared at Jack creepily, wiggling his fingers over the edge, which made Jack chuckle.

"Stay safe!" Bunny's voice echoed as he descended further through his path.

Eventually the hole covered itself and Jack floated up towards Jamie's window, ready to welcome the young teen home.

* * *

Jamie walked through his front door sluggishly and let it slam closed behind him.

His parents were still at work, and Sophie would be spending the night with a friend, so he let his mind wander as he kicked his sneakers off and launched them at some random place on the floor.

It was a hot day so he wore a simple white t-shirt with blue jeans.

He tossed his bag lightly onto the kitchen tiles then stalked the cabinets for a snack.

"_What am I going to do tonight? I've got the whole house to myself."_

An image of him throwing a huge party with beer and crazy music popped into his head and he smirked.

He wasn't _that_ kind of teenager, the popular ones who threw parties and spent their free time drinking and having fun.

He was the boring kind. He did all his homework and spent his time watching movies or browsing the Internet.

He missed being a child. When you were a child, everyone was your friend and all you did was play and not worry about the future.

When Jamie had entered High School, his friends had branched off into different _clicks_. But since Jamie wasn't as easy to categorize as _that popular boy_ or that _nerdy kid_ he ended up on a sort of _middle ground_, a click for people who didn't really fit in.

But he was okay with that. He had a few friends that he hung out with at school, but he usually preferred spending his free time alone.

He did feel lonely sometimes though.

He grabbed a box of crackers and headed up to his room.

He was feeling kind of lazy today so he would probably spend all night surfing the web…or reading a book…or…

Jamie paused when his hand clamped down around the doorknob to his room. The metal was _freezing_ cold against his hand.

"_What the…"_

He swung the door open and was greeted by a blast of cold wind in his face.

He blinked and stared as he saw it snowing heavily in his room, thick white flakes collecting on his carpet.

On the center of his bed sat Jack Frost, _of course_, who spread his arms wide at Jamie's entrance.

"Merry Christmas!"

Jamie dropped his box of crackers with a huge grin.

"But it's May." Jamie replied.

"It doesn't snow it May." Jack said, gesturing to the flakes swirling around in Jamie's room.

Jamie laughed and leaped onto Jack, squeezing him into a tight hug.

Jack held the boy in return, and then flicked his staff backwards, causing all of the snow and cold wind to shoot outside of the boy's window so that he wouldn't freeze.

"I'm glad you're here Jack." Jamie said as he released Jack and stood up.

Jack frowned. "You've gotten taller again."

Jamie was sixteen now, and was almost as tall as Jack was. As wonderful as it was to see Jamie, it always pained Jack to know that the boy was getting older.

Jamie's previously round features were now sharper, and more masculine.

"That's right, I'm a growing man." Jamie puffed his chest out proudly.

Jack smiled and moved over so that the teen could sit on the bed with him as the room warmed up.

"How long are you staying?" Jamie asked.

"All night." Jack beamed down at him, then frowned and scratched the back of his head.

"I-if that okay with you, I mean."

Jack often forgot that Jamie was a teenager and he had learned that hard way that sometimes growing boys need their space. He had come to see Jamie once when the boy was in an awful mood and wanted nothing to do with the winter spirit. Jack was heart broken at first, but after the other guardians had explained to Jack that teenagers go through phases and puberty, he realized that he would have to conform to Jamie's growth.

Now he made sure he didn't talk to Jamie like he was a little kid or offend him in any way, which was tough. Speaking to children was all he knew, besides talking with the Guardians that is.

"_Just talk to Jamie like you would talk to me." _Bunnymund had suggested when he went to the Pooka for advice.

But Jamie was _acting_ different as well. He often randomly looked uncomfortable talking about certain things and the boy's face would go red for no reason at all, none that Jack understood at least.

So Jack decided that dealing with teenagers was hard. Way harder than dealing with children.

He would rather face Flicker than go anywhere near Jamie during one of his _puberty phases_.

"Awesome, I didn't have any plans tonight anyway." Jamie said, snapping the spirit out of his thoughts.

Jack put an arm around Jamie's shoulders and pulled the teen snug against him, causing Jamie to blush.

"So how have you been these days?" the sprit asked.

"Fine really, nothing new, just getting through school and stuff."

"I see." Jack wasn't very good at small talk.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Jack asked.

"Um…lets watch a movie." Jamie crawled off the front of his bed and propped himself in front of his television.

Jamie's room was a lot different now compared to the way it was when jack first met him.

Where drawings used to hang, now held posters of strange people Jack had never seen before, and his toys were replaced with various electronics that amazed the spirit every time Jamie turned one on.

The television was a good example. Jack had caught glimpses of the bright, moving screens in people's houses from time to time but he had never actually seen a full film until he sat and watched one with Jamie.

"Which movie haven't we watched yet?" Jamie asked from in front of the bed.

Jack set his staff parallel with Jamie's bed then leaned forward to watch the boy shuffle through DVDs.

"Whatever you want to watch is fine with me."

A moment later a hand popped up holding a silver disk.

"Romantic Comedy?" Jamie asked.

"Sounds good."

Although Jack wasn't sure what _Romantic Comedy_ meant, having the privilege of watching any kind of movie was always an interesting experience.

He often spent less time focused on the plot and more time marveling at special effects and the strange angle at which the scenes appeared in.

"Okay cool."

Jamie pressed a few buttons on his remote then started the movie.

Jack leaned back and watched as Jamie hurried to shut off the lights then joined him on the bed with a smile.

"I don't know if you'll like this movie though…it's kind of cheesy…"

Jamie didn't know why he was concerned with what the winter spirit thought of him all the time. Jack had never once judged him in the past, not even when he came out to him about being gay.

It had been a really hard time for him around puberty, and he decided to tell Jack first before anyone else…mainly because Jack was the reason Jamie started becoming attracted to men.

And when he was practically shaking with fear about how the spirit would judge him, Jack surprised him instead.

"_I don't know why it's such a big deal." The spirit chuckled._

"_Love is love, right?"_

Of course, Jack hadn't known that _he_ was the reason for Jamie's realization. Nonetheless, it was incredibly helpful, and gave Jamie the push he needed to come out to his friends and parents.

Jack stretched and made himself comfy on the bed as he peered curiously at the screen in front of him.

"I like all your movies." Jack replied.

Jamie took this opportunity to stare at Jack, as he so often did when they watched a film.

It was the only chance he got to really admire the spirit's face without Jack giving him a weird look.

When he was a little kid he saw Jack Frost as some sort of god like figure, some magical perfect being, but he knew better now. Jack may have the powers of ice and wind but he had the mind of a normal person. He could make mistakes just as easily as anyone, and it took Jamie a few years to realize that.

However, the winter spirit's beauty was something that never changed. When he was a child, Jamie was awed by it, but as he grew older, Jack's attractiveness brought out different feelings from within the teen, some that he wasn't proud of.

Jamie let his eyes wander over Jack's face in the darkness. His crystal blue eyes seemed to have a natural glow of their own, and the light from the television reflected off of the spirit's icy pale skin with each scene.

Jamie found himself wondering why Jack's eyes were such a beautiful shade of blue, then he sighed deeply and looked away, trying to focus on the movie they were watching.

"_I'm glad you came, Jack." _He thought.

Perhaps tonight would be the night he tested out some of his hidden feelings.

* * *

**Next chapter things are gonna get a little more mature. O_o**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4. Let me know if you guys find any grammar errors.  
**

* * *

Bunny stared out one of the windows to the globe room as he waited for it to be dark outside.

He was leaning against the frame, hands behind his head with his large feet crossed in front of him.

"_Hurry up and rise, Moon." _

He looked down at the little frozen bird in his lap and wondered what Jack was doing with Jamie.

Jamie was a teenager now, and Bunny had learned a few things about teenagers.

He sometimes came across them making out in some hidden place in the woods. In fact, the only time he ever saw teens outside is when they were doing unspeakably _dirty_ things with one another.

He did care deeply for Jamie and he wasn't sure if he had become anything like those other sexually crazed kids.

But for some reason knowing that a _teenage_ Jamie was alone with Jack right now bothered him.

'_I'm being over protective.' _He thought.

'_Actually, I'm being crazy. Jack doesn't need my protection from teenagers, I should be more concerned with Flicker right now.'_

Why is it that every time he sat and thought about Jack Frost, his mind went all out of whack?

'_This can't be love. Love is supposed to be a wonderful, heart-warming experience.'_

Then again, part of Bunny's conflicting thoughts could be due to the fact that his and Jack's relationship was one-sided. At least, from what he knew.

Jack _did_ however act strangely on some occasions.

Once, in his warren, they were talking and relaxing in a flower patch and Jack had fallen asleep against him, _by accident_, Bunny had assumed.

Jack _had _looked very comfortable though, as Bunny watched the boy snuggle closer and burry his face into gray fur while asleep.

And there had been another time after Bunny had disappeared for a while. He had been deep in his warren, investigating why some of his eggs were disappearing without knowing that the spirit of winter had come for a visit.

When Jack finally found him, the poor boy looked devastated, like he had expected to find Bunny mauled or ripped to bits by a monster.

Jack wouldn't leave his side for a good three days after that incident.

But, he overlooked all of those things as being normal for close friends.

Then again…

He looked down at the little bird in his lap and saw it snuggle fondly into his gray fur.

'_These icelings are supposed to have a part of Jack in them, right?'_

Bunny shook his head and thumped it against the wall behind him.

He was thinking _way_ too far into things. His mind needed a break.

"Bunny?"

The Pooka jolted a bit and his head snapped to the side to see Tooth floating next to him.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She said while setting a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine, what's the matter?" he asked, his voice a bit groggy.

"I'm just worried," she said. "You don't think Flicker would do anything to Jack while he's with Jamie, do you?"

The rabbit shook his head.

"Nah, but even if he did, Jack is strong. He won't let anything happen to Jamie, and I'll be going back to get him in a few hours anyway."

He knew he was being a hypocrite, since he had spent this whole evening worrying about Jack in every way possible.

"And the Moon should be out soon." Bunny said.

Tooth nodded then turned around when she saw North and Sandy entering the room carrying books and random parchments.

"I've found it!" North boasted while shaking a large, old book in they air for the other two Guardians to see.

Sandy put his hands on his sides and gave North a quizzical stare.

"Err…Sandy helped me find it." He corrected.

"Find what exactly?" Bunny asked, not bothering to move from his place by the window.

"The answer to our questions." He said in a hushed tone while waving his open hand in a circle for dramatic effect.

"What _is_ that book, North?" Tooth asked

"Creatures from the Land of the Dark Ages." North replied, holding up the cover for Tooth to see.

The book itself had a blacked cover with bits of velvet hanging off the sides. It looked old and musky, and it was covered in dust.

"So that thing is gonna tell us how to deal with Flicker?" Bunny asked.

"No," North replied. "It will help us _understand_ Flicker."

The Pooka snorted.

"So Flicker is some sort of creature from the dark ages?" Tooth asked.

"He may be," North replied as he lifted the open book in front of his face to read.

"As the lust and greed of mankind arises into the sky and burns out against the sun, then a being of both sins shall be created. One that hath stolen the very flames from the sun itself and will search the Earth for the single soul who can settle it's burning fire and become one with the desires in it's heart."

Bunny sat up and focused on the ground as he listened, having become interested about half way through the paragraph.

"What is that a description of?" Tooth asked, her voice quiet.

North flipped the open book around and they could all see the words: _Demons of the sun _in large print at the top of the page.

"You think Flicker is some sort of…_demon_?" Tooth asked in a hushed tone.

"I don't know, but it's the only thing we could find that had to do with spirits of fire."

"What else does it say?" Bunny asked anxiously.

"Eh…it is a very old book. It is filled with plenty of fake legends and silly-"

"What _else_ does it say?" Bunny repeated, this time in a harsher tone.

The other Guardians exchanged worried glances, and Bunny stood up and planted himself in front of them.

"It said the thing will search the Earth for the single soul who can settle it's burning fire," Bunny repeated carefully, speaking mostly to himself.

"What if that _soul_ is Jack? Ice and snow settles fire, doesn't it?" Bunny asked.

"But _settle it's burning fire_ could also be a metaphor." Tooth said.

"And you know theses old books are _full _of those." North added.

"Well whatever, its still sounds a lot like Flicker and it's the only thing we have so far, so what else does it say?" Bunny walked over to North and tried to tug the book out of his hands.

"Err…about that." North said.

Bunny's ears went back in irritation when he saw that the rest of the page was so worn that it was unreadable. However, he did make out a picture of what looked like a flower towards the bottom.

"What's that?" Bunny asked while pointing a furry finger at the image.

Sandy and tooth both floated up behind them to peer into the book as well.

A flower made of sand appeared above Sandy's head with a question mark next to it.

They all continued to stare at the page for a while, trying to make out what some of the words said.

"Oh look!" Tooth said with a finger pointed towards the ceiling.

The Man in the Mood had appeared and was greeting them with rays of moonlight that lit in a circle across the floor.

They all stood around and North addressed the moon with open arms.

"Manny, please help us figure out what to do about this spirit called Flicker." He said loudly.

Nothing happened for a moment, making Bunny wonder if Manny was even going to both speaking with them, but then a bright beam appeared in the middle of the circle and began to flow and change form.

They all leaned in closer and once the image was done forming they could see a picture of a red haired man with flames dancing off his features.

"Is that _him_?" Bunny asked, looking for an answer from the others. They were all looking at Tooth.

Tooth nodded her head and they looked back as more beams of light appeared inside of the circle.

These ones orbited around the first one and began to take shape until three brightly glowing flowers were circling around the image of Flicker, each bearing four plump petals with a small flame at their centers.

"It's that flower again." North said.

"But there are three of them." Tooth added.

The image remained for a while and Bunny was left confused and staring up at the moon, expecting more of an explanation.

"I don't get it, what are you trying to say, what do those flowers mean?" He asked the Moon.

Silence answered him, but then the image of Flicker in the center changed again and soon they were all looking at the gentle smiling face of Jack Frost, the three flowers orbiting around _him _now.

Bunny stared with wide eyes as his heart began beating rapidly.

"This is…" Tooth began.

"It's a warning." North finished the sentence for her.

Just then, little ice bird flew from the window towards Bunny in a hurry and began pecking at his arm frantically.

"Huh? What is it?" Bunny caught the little thing in his hands, trying to coax an answer out of it.

"Is there something wrong?" Tooth asked, her feathers frilling up in worry.

"I don't know." Bunny said. His eyes were still wide and he was having a hard time calming down his rapidly beating heart.

"I'm gonna go check on Jack." He said quickly.

He stomped his foot on the ground, harder than what was necessary, then disappeared down his tunnel, still clutching the bird in his hands.

"Hold on a second!" North hurried after him but the hole closed before he could reach it.

He looked back at Tooth and Sandy, both Guardians were staring at him expectantly, faces filled with concern.

The moon had stopped shining now and the images on the floor disappeared.

North turned and saw a few of his yetis poking their heads into the entrance.

"Prepare the sleigh!" North called out to them.

* * *

Jamie snuggled onto his bedspread as the coolness from Jack's body sent goose bumps up his arms.

After the movie ended, they had both laid down on Jamie's bed and talked until it was dark outside.

Jamie rested his head against his pillow and stared back into Jack's glowing blue eyes. He moved closer and drew his arms around the spirit's waist while moving his head to Jack's chest.

"You'll get cold, Jamie." Jack said softly, though he brought an arm around the boy to return the embrace.

"I like being cold." The teen replied with a yawn.

Jack smiled then he focused on his body to raise his temperature. He let the room warm him up, but not enough to cause him any harm, just enough to make Jamie more comfortable.

Jamie sighed and listened to the spirit's heart beating slowly next to his ear.

His mind was full of thoughts of Jack as he inhaled through the spirit's blue sweater.

He smelled like the forest and something else that Jamie couldn't put his finger on.

It was quiet in the room now.

Jamie's warmth was making Jack weak. He sighed sleepily and let his eyes fall shut.

It had been a long time since he had slept.

Jamie's examined the peaceful look on the spirit's face then blushed shyly.

It was now or never.

"Hey, Jack?" Jamie whispered.

"Hm?" Jack was tired and he didn't open his eyes when Jamie spoke.

"Do you want to play a game?"

Jamie saw a flash of blue and the Jack was looking down at him with a grin.

"What kind of game?" Jack felt more awake now. It had been a long time since he had actually _played _with Jamie, rather than just hang out and talk to him.

The teen gulped and smiled.

"It's called _nervous_." Jamie said.

Jack frowned. That didn't sound very fun.

"You play like this." Jamie said as he snaked a hand under Jack's blue hoodie then swirled his finger around a cold stomach before poking at the sprit's belly button.

Jack chuckled and squirmed away from him.

"See? Now you just lost." Jamie said.

Jack frowned and looked down at himself. "Huh?"

"Because you got nervous." Jamie explained.

"I'm not nervous, just ticklish." Jack said, making Jamie laugh.

"It doesn't matter, if you move away you loose the game, but if you stay still the whole time, you win."

"Sounds easy, you should have said the rules earlier." Jack said.

Jamie pushed away from Jack a little, his heart beating rapidly.

"You go first." The teen said.

Jack studied Jamie for a second, suddenly confused as to why his cheeks had turned red. Jamie's cheeks did that a lot though.

Jack gave the boy a sinister looking grin then suddenly attacked the boy's neck with cold, wiggling fingertips.

Jamie yelped and started giggling but he didn't move away from Jack's hands.

"Hmm." Jack hummed.

He trailed a finger up the teen's face then poked him in the nose, before reaching up to ruffle his hair.

"Piece of cake." Jamie murmured.

"Oh really?" Jack said darkly.

He trailed his cold hands downward and slipped them up Jamie's shirt before tickling his sides.

Jamie was laughing loudly now, but amazingly, he hadn't moved an inch. His body was still stiff against the bed.

'_Of course jack's idea of nervousness is the fear of being tickled.' _Jamie thought.

Jack pondered for a moment then he took both of his hands and pushed roughly on Jamie's stomach, causing the boy to fall off of the bed with a _thump._

"I win!" Jack cheered.

"Jack, that's cheating!" Jamie laughed as he pulled himself back onto the bed.

"That's not my fault, you didn't explain the rules good enough."

Jamie crossed his arms and pretended to glare at the spirit.

"Fine, fine, you win this round." Jack said.

Jamie smiled and scooted closer to the spirit. "Then it's my turn now." He said.

Jack straightened his body out along the bed, surrendering it to Jamie's game. However, he had a pretty confident look on his face.

"Good luck." He said.

Jamie smiled but his heart was beating rapidly and his hands were shaky as they reached for Jack's sweater.

Jack closed his eyes with a smug look, preparing to be tickled to death with warm fingers. However, when those hands began caressing the skin of his stomach, his eyes opened in surprise.

Jamie had a very focused look on his face and his cheeks were still pink while his palms moved upwards from Jack's stomach, causing the spirit's sweater to bundle up against the back of Jamie's hands, exposing his torso.

Jack's skin was cold against Jamie's hands, but it was also smooth and soft.

The teen made note of the violet color that soon appeared on Jack's cheeks. He assumed that the spirit's body worked the exact opposite of a human's. While human bodies got warmer when they were intimate or embarrassed, Jack's got colder.

As if to accent his thoughts, he could feel Jack's skin cooling down even more every time he ran his hands against his chest.

Jack bit his bottom lip. There was something very off about the way Jamie was touching him, but he wasn't sure if he was thinking too much into things.

"_Why can't I control my temperature?" _Jack thought as he felt himself continue to grow colder the more Jamie caressed his skin.

He looked at the teen's face, half expecting him to accuse Jack of cheating again, but Jamie looked very focused at the moment.

Those warm hands brushed against a pale nipple and Jack closed his eyes, willing himself not to move as a strange feeling rushed over him.

He _had_ to have just dropped five degrees.

Jamie marveled at how cold Jack's body was getting, and at the even brighter shade of purple that was staining his cheeks.

"Do you give up yet?" Jamie asked, voice slightly shaky.

"No way." Jack stuck his tongue out stubbornly.

"Okay then." Jamie said with a shy smile.

He moved his hands around to Jack's back and traced the sprit's spine, then up to the side of Jack's hips, which he ran his hands over again and again, feeling the skin practically freeze there.

Jack was breathing harder now, he didn't know what was wrong with him. Jamie was either _really_ good at this game, or something else was…

He stared down in confusion when he felt Jamie's fingers slip easily under his belt.

"J-Jamie?"

The teen looked up at him mischievously.

"Are you nervous?" he asked in a playful tone.

"U- no!" Jack replied.

Jamie grinned then slipped his hand past short white hairs before groping the spirit between the legs.

Jack was off the bed a second later.

"Ha! I win!" Jamie said, but when he looked up at Jack he knew he had gone too far.

Jack's eyes were wide and his expression was a mix of surprise and confusion as he looked down at himself then back to Jamie.

"Uh…I'm sorry," Jamie immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, that was mean of me, I shouldn't have done that."

Jack was still in shock. Nobody had ever touched him _there_. Not even himself, from what he could remember at least.

"Jack?"

He looked down at Jamie who had a heartbroken expression on his face.

Jack took a deep breath to regain his composure, then crossed his arms and turned his head to the side in a pout.

"Hmph…that was a cheap trick."

Jamie smiled a little. "You aren't mad?"

Jack stuck his tongue out in a reply and Jamie giggled.

He floated back to the bed with Jamie then poked the boy in the head.

"Hands to yourself." He stated, mocking and orderly tone.

"Heh, okay, but I still won."

Jack gaped at him with his mouth wide open. "No way! You cheated worse than I did!"

Jamie started laughing harder now.

"Okay fine it was a _tie_."

Jack grumbled then turned his head away. "Geez…teenagers these days…with their weird games and their…"

Jack paused as he felt a familiar pain wash over him _hard_. He gripped his forehead and winced.

Jamie noticed this and grabbed his arm in concern.

"Jack, you okay?"

Jack forced himself to block out the pain and turned so that Jamie would see him grin.

"Y- yeah, just a message. It looks like I have to take off early."

"Aww." Jamie whined. He had been excited to sleep with Jack next to him tonight.

"Yup, sorry bud, duty calls." Jack said as he jumped off the bed and flipped his staff up with his foot and into his palm.

He headed for the window but paused as Jamie grabbed him by the sleeve.

"I really am sorry…about before." Jamie's eyes were filled with worry.

Jack could tell that Jamie thought he was leaving because he was mad.

Jack grinned back at him. "Don't worry about it."

Jamie smiled and nodded.

Jack hoped that Jamie wouldn't be upset after this, and that things wouldn't be awkward.

He paused halfway out the window to give Jamie a reassuring wave then he flew off into the street. When his feet touched pavement, he took a moment to collect himself.

He grabbed his head again; trying to clear the fuzziness and pain that was still blurring his vision.

'_Alright…where is he?'_

He jumped into the air and flew a few blocks down, then zipped sideways into the forest.

He knew which animal had been destroyed and the place is should have been was…

Jack landed softly in the grass then saw the remains of an ice deer broken in pieces a few feet away. Upon Jack's entrance, the blue magic still hovering near the rubble suddenly shot back into Jack's chest.

Before he had a chance to think however, a rush of pain entered his head again causing him to groan and fall to one knee.

He looked forward to see more pieces of ice drop to the ground as a figure stepped out from behind the trees, shoes burning up the grass with each step.

"Flicker." Jack croaked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5. This chapter is another reason why the story is rated M :p**

**By the way, I saw the movie and it was fantastic! It makes me want to continue this story even more now. Hopefully I'll also know how to portray the characters more accurately. (I already made a mistake by assuming that the Man in the Moon only shows up at night, while in the movie he appears whenever the fuck he wants). **

**Yeah, this chapter is graphic. But it will start to veer towards Bunny x Jack, finally.**

* * *

Jack stayed very still as he knelt down before his enemy, staff held cautiously to his side.

He would have blown the flaming man into the sky with a blast of ice by now if it weren't for the fact that Flicker had another hostage.

The man was clutching the frozen owl from Jamie's window in a fiery grasp while plucking pieces of ice off of the creature's body. Jack felt a sting in the back of his head every time a piece fell.

"What do you want?" Jack asked. He was still clutching his forehead.

"So this really does hurt you." Flicker said as he picked off one of the owl's toes and crushed it in his fingers.

Jack's skull burned.

Flicker walked around him playfully with a big smile on his face. Then he appeared a few feet in front of Jack and leaned down to examine the winter spirit's expression.

"You look so beautiful when you're in pain."

Jack's head was spinning and he had a hard time registering the man's seductive tone.

"What?" he asked.

Flicker loved this. He had never seen his beloved Jack Frost in any state of submission before. _'Submissive to me_!'

'_Oh, this is going to be fun.'_

Jack stared at Flicker while his head cleared up. There was little left of his owl other than the poor creature's head and torso.

The bird remained quiet, having very little life left to interact.

Flicker was bouncing the thing up and down in has palm and was stepping around Jack and examining him as if he wanted to see him at every angle possible.

"Why do you keep doing this? What do you want from me?" Jack asked slowly while keeping very still. There _had_ to be away around this without his owl being broken any more than it was. He had put a lot of energy into that creature and he knew how much pain it would cause him if it was destroyed.

"Hm." Flicker knelt down closer to him and peered into the boy's glowing blue eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?" The man whispered.

The flames on his right hand disappeared and his brought it upwards to stroke Jack's cheek.

Jack froze in confusion at the feeling of hot fingertips on his face. He then acted on impulse.

He jabbed his staff forward and blew the man's body back with a streak of ice, causing Flicker to skid until his back slammed hard against a tree.

Jack was already on his feet. He zipped forward ready to snatch his owl out of the man's grasp. However, Flicker looked up and met his gaze a moment before. He was glaring with an angry fire burning in his eyes.

He dropped the owl just as Jack reached for it, and then crushed it to pieces with his foot.

Jack's body froze in place and he choked on a gasp as agonizing pain exploded in his head.

He cried out and grabbed his head tightly, practically clawing at it as he staggered backwards and fell on to his back. His vision blurred and at the moment all he could see was white.

Flicker watched with interest as streams of blue from the owl's body flowed back into Jack and disappeared. He grinned hugely at the look on the boy's face. Jack was so attractive when he was suffering.

He couldn't control himself.

Flicker got down on his knees and hovered just above Jack's body. Then he pulled his arm back and lit it with fire, flames becoming sharp at the tips of his fingers.

Jack regained his vision for a second just to see a flash of bright red stab him through his chest.

The boy's eyes went wide as the aching from his head combined with the sudden excruciating pain from his body. Jack screamed, then shuddered hard and his body went limp against the grass beneath him. He was numb as tremors of pain racketed up from his chest and back to his head over and over again.

The spot in his chest burned and sent heat through his entire body, weakening him.

Flicker smiled and licked his lips.

Jack's eyes dimmed and his expression relaxed. He would have appeared dead if it wasn't for the trembling in his body.

Flicker finally pulled his hand out of Jack's chest, causing violet blood to seep out immediately, absorbing into the boy's jacket and staining his pale skin.

"Oh, what a pretty color." Flicker stated as he lifted his hand and licked the dark, cold blood off of his fingers.

He gently grasped the boy's cheek, causing blood to smear on his face. He looked into the boy's unfocused eyes and beamed.

"I'm sorry Jack, I know that was a cheap trick but you're just too strong, I had to weaken you somehow."

The pain in Jack's body was blocking out his senses, but he was vaguely aware of something hot touching his face.

Flicker ran his hands over the Jack's forehead then petted his white hair. He was particularly found of the way the boy's hair stuck up and showed brightly in the darkness. His hand left a purple streak against snowy locks.

"I won't hurt you anymore Jack…just stay with me…"

The man whispered as he leaned down and licked the winter spirit's chin.

* * *

Bunny was racing through his tunnel trying to keep up with the frozen bird that had suddenly gotten a lot faster as it flapped its little wings frantically.

"I hope you know where you're going!" Bunny's voice echoes through his tunnel.

The bird suddenly turned and flew into anther passageway and Bunny skidded to slow himself down before leaping after it.

He stopped when he saw the bird hover under a spot in the ground while pecking at the roots above it.

Bunny halted and looked around for a moment. He knew where this was; it was deep in the forest of Jack's hometown. But why weren't they at Jamie's house?

He focused on the ground above him then stomped his foot, causing a hole to appear above his head.

He leaped upwards then paused when he saw the little bird perch on the ground under the tunnel. It was looking up at him expectantly.

"Fine, stay here then." He said as he leaped upwards through his hole.

It was dark in the forest when he peeked his head over the ground. His ears were flat against his head so that they wouldn't give him away.

When he looked around the woods his eyes were immediately directed to an orange glow towards his right.

'_A fire?'_

But as he peered closer he could see that the fire was actually a man. The same man he had seen earlier in the Man in the Moon's warning.

Bunny's heart stopped when he saw the orange flames reflecting off of the face of Jack, who was motionless on the ground as the man said something, then leaned over and licked the boy's chin.

Something clicked inside of Bunny and a wave of emotions drove him into action.

He didn't even bother with his boomerangs as he shot forward with his feet in front of him. Upon contact with flicker, he kicked him as hard as he could, propelling the man's flaming body backwards into the forest.

Flicker didn't even have time to make a noise as he shot back and the brightness from his body disappeared.

The area dimmed at the flame spirit's absence but the light from a few piles of burning grass helped Bunny see. He was pretty sure he had burned the bottom of his feet from kicking Flicker, but he didn't care at the moment.

He kneeled above Jack and looked him over with wide eyes.

The boy looked lifeless and his eyes were only half open. The deep blue of his irises appeared faded.

Bunny grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him anxiously.

"Hey Jack, say something! Can you hear me?"

Jack's body was still limp but he let out a pained groan.

Then Bunny paused when he felt a pool of wetness under his feet. He moved his hand and grazed it along Jack's features, seeing if he could feel any sort of injury.

When he felt the same liquid covering Jack's chest, he moved his hand by the flames next to him so that he could see what he was feeling.

His hand had turned a dark purple and the liquid was dripping off his fingers.

'_Jack's blood.' _He thought with a shudder.

He had never once witnessed a guardian bleed before…not this much.

Jack was hurt _bad_.

He suddenly felt very panicky inside.

'_Oh no…Jack's bleeding…Jacks bleeding!'_

He knelt down lower and gently cradled Jack's upper half in his arms while grasping the side of Jack's cheek in his right hand.

"Jack," He spoke softly now but there was still a panicked rush in his tone.

"Can you hear me? You're gonna be alright, mate. I'm gonna get you out of here."

He watched closely as the boy's brow furrowed slightly.

Jack blinked a few times. He still couldn't see very well but he could barely make out Bunny's voice.

"…unny." Jack's voice was barely audible but a Pooka's sharp hearing could pick it up easily.

"Yeah, its me. I'm right here. Don't worry-"

Bunny paused when he saw a flash of bright orange in the corner of his eye.

He ducked just in time, covering Jack's body with his own, as a giant ball of fire flew over them and ignited a tree six feet away.

Flicker staggered out of the trees with a very irritated look on his face. The flames on the man's shoulders grew taller.

"Who…" The man trailed off when he saw Bunny.

"Oh." A grin crept onto the flame spirit's face.

"I'm guessing you're the Easter Bunny." Flicker chuckled but immediately silenced himself when he saw the look on the rabbit's face.

Bunny looked like he was about to destroy something.

His body was shaking with rage, he couldn't even think of an insult or threat. He couldn't speak with so many emotions flooding his mind.

'_But Jack is more important right now.' _Bunny thought.

He gently pulled Jack's body into his arms, sharp stare still freezing Flicker to the ground.

'_You're lucky Jack's needs me, otherwise you would be dead.' _He thought.

With a stomp of his foot, a hole opened right under them and both Bunny and Jack immediately descended.

Flicker's eyes widened in surprise then he shot forward, trying to get to Jack before the two disappeared. However, he was unsuccessful and the hole closed off right as he reached it.

He growled loudly in frustration then breathed fire out of his mouth, burning the trees around him in flames.

His winter spirit had been taken from him.

'_But I'm going to get him back.'_

Flicker took a deep breath to calm himself down. His flames dimmed and turned into smoke as he relaxed.

He _would_ get Jack back. But there was no way he could fight all the guardians at once…not without the third flower at least.

And he _really_ wasn't sure if he wanted to fight that rabbit either after seeing the hellish look on the thing's face.

He would have to come up with some sort of strategy. A crumbling sound distracted him and he looked down to see his foot crushing more of the ice owl's remains.

"Oh, that's right." Flicker said to himself with a grin.

He remembered which home that owl had been monitoring, and his own presence around that area had caused Jack to react instantly.

Flicker turned with a smirk and gazed off in the direction of Jamie's house.

* * *

Bunny stopped moving when his feet met the ground of one of his curving tunnels.

His eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself as he cradled Jack close to his chest.

"Damn it, Jack! I told you to not to leave Jamie's house!" His voice cracked as he spoke. He hated all the emotions that were taking over his mind.

The real person he was angry at was himself.

He _never_ should have left Jack's side when he knew that crazed demon was out looking for the boy.

'_What was I thinking? I'm such an idiot!' _

Bunny took a deep breath and gently pulled Jack away so that he could look at him.

He opened his eyes, but instantly regretted it.

The green glow from the grasses of his tunnel allowed him to see everything perfectly.

Jack's blood was _everywhere. _It was covering about every inch of the boy's body and as Bunny looked down at himself, he could see that most of his arms and chest were also coated in it.

Jack's eyes were shut now, having finally passed out from the pain.

Bunny took a shaky breath. _'I can't loose control while Jack needs me. I have to stay calm.'_

He pressed his own hand firmly onto Jack's chest wound to try and slow down the bleeding while he gently picked Jack up bridal style before making his way through his tunnel. He took careful steps, trying not to shift the boy too much.

Upon walking he realized that there was no way he could take care of Jack on his own, he needed the others' help.

"Hey, bird!" Bunny called out through the tunnel.

He hadn't come up with an actual name for Jack's gift yet.

Surprisingly, the creature flew up behind him almost instantly and perched on his shoulder.

He looked into it's glass eyes and spoke carefully.

"I need you to go get North and the others for me."

He stomped his foot and another tunnel opened up above him.

The little bird stared at him for a moment but then flew up and disappeared through the tunnel.

'_I hope they figure out that thing's message._' He thought.

He peered down at Jack and saw the boy still limp in his arms. His scrawny legs swayed slightly with every step the rabbit took.

"I'm so sorry, mate." Bunny said softly.

He looked back behind himself to see a trail of violet blood dripping off and marking his footprints.

When they reached the end of his tunnel he stepped out into his warren. He was greeted by a few of his eggs that were running around him in a worried confusion, but he ignored them for a moment and walked to a soft patch of long grass in the center of the clearing.

He gently laid Jack down.

He wasted no time in carefully removing the boy's sweater and tossing it to the side while looking around frantically for something to press against Jack's wounds.

The boy's sweater was already soaked in blood so he decided against that.

He cursed and pressed both his hands onto Jack's chest firmly to stop some of the bleeding. He didn't have time to go look for bandages or cloth.

'_Where are you guys?' _he thought.

His prayers were answered sooner than expected though, as a brightly colored portal opened up near the clearing and the little ice bird flew out of it.

It flew over to Jack and him and North, Sandy, and Tooth soon followed.

North had one of his swords pointing forward and they were all carrying large buckets of snow, ready to chuck them at Flicker.

North stopped and looked around in confusion.

But Tooth saw them immediately and gasped, causing Sandy and North to turn towards where Jack lay.

Bunny already knew what an awful sight it was. Jack was laying limp on the ground, unmoving while his own blood covered his entire body along with Bunny and the ground beneath them.

Bunny still had his hands over Jack's wound, trying to put as much pressure on it as he could.

Tooth covered her mouth with her hands while her eyes became teary.

North and Sandy both looked shocked. They stood frozen in place with their mouths wide open.

"Help me!" Bunny shouted, causing the other guardians to snap out of it and instantly rush to his side, dropping their buckets to the ground.

Tooth got there first. She held Jack's face and examined him all over. She then looked up at Bunny with fear in her eyes.

"How did this happen?" she asked, voice broken.

"How do you think?" Bunny grumbled.

North leaned down on one knee and looked Jack over carefully.

"Flicker attacked him while he was with Jamie?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

Sandy hovered in front of Bunny and a picture of Jamie appeared above his head with a question mark.

"I'm sure Jamie is fine." Bunny said. "Jack was in the forest when I found him being attacked by Flicker."

Sandy nodded and North opened his coat to pull out some cloth and bandages.

_Thank goodness North had thought to bring those._

"Why is he so warm?" Tooth asked suddenly, her voice frantic.

Bunny removed one of his hands from Jack's chest and pressed the back of it to the boy's cheek. He skin _was_ warm, _very_ warm, and for Jack that was a dangerous thing.

'We need to cool him down! Sandy, the buckets!" North commanded.

The Buckets in the center of the clearing suddenly rose up as golden sand carried them to where they were.

North and Bunny immediately dumped the buckets over Jack's entire body, covering him in snow. North then brushed the snow away from Jack's wound and bundled up a cloth before pressing in firmly into his chest.

"Let's wait for him to cool down, then we'll get him cleaned up and bandaged." Tooth said.

North gazed at Bunny as the Pooka sat back in the grass and stared forward. His body was shaking a bit and he was taking deep breaths.

"Are you alright, my friend?" North asked him softly.

Bunny shook his head and Tooth set a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"No, I'm not alright," he said quietly "North, you didn't see how that _thing_ was treating Jack when I found him…he's insane…he really is a demon."

And image of Flicker hovering over Jack's limp body replayed in Bunny's mind. The flaming spirit played in the boy's blood, smearing it all over the place before running his tongue along Jack's chin in a sick seductive manner.

Bunny shuddered and the others exchanged looks.

"Well, he is safe now. We won't let something like this happen again." North said loudly, trying to bring the Pooka's spirits up.

Bunnymund nodded, though he had a bad feeling that Flicker was planning an even greater attack against them.

"Why don't you get washed up a bit, Bunny?" Tooth suggested, gesturing to Bunny's violet stained fur.

Bunny looked down at himself then back at the pile of snow covering Jack's body.

"Nah." he replied.

North chuckled and patted Bunny on the arm. "We'll be right here with Jack, don't you worry."

However the Pooka didn't budge and his expression was far from amused.

"No." Bunny stated stubbornly.

Tooth and Sandy exchanged looks.

"Starting right now," Bunny began. "I'm not leaving Jack's side."

North sighed deeply. He knew that this would happen eventually, that Bunny's affection for Jack would drive the Pooka to irrational conclusions and cause him to act on emotions alone.

He picked up one of the empty buckets and handed it to tooth.

"Toothy, would you please fly to one of those streams and bring some water?" he asked.

Tooth nodded and flew away with the bucket.

For now, they would all stay by Jack's side and keep the boy safe as he healed.

They just hoped that Flicker wouldn't do anything drastic while they were isolated in the warren.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

* * *

Bunny sat with his back end planted in the grass of his warren while he watched Jack sleep in front of him.

He had kept true to his word that he wasn't going to leave Jack's side, but he was starting to get sore from staying in the same position all night.

'_At least I have a helper.'_ Bunny thought as he looked at the little ice bird perched on his shoulder. The creature had copied Bunny and hasn't moved from Jack's side either.

It was morning now. Sandy had left last night soon after Jack had cooled down and returned to his job of bringing dreams to children. Bunny assumed he would be back in a few minutes.

Tooth was near the edge of the clearing giving orders to her mini fairies while they zipped in and out of a tunnel that Bunny had opened up for them.

She had said that she didn't want to leave the warren until Jack woke up.

North was back at the North Pole. He has been constantly popping in and out of the Warren to check on Jack but the jolly expression and laughter he wielded each time was starting to get on the Pooka's nerves. Usually he enjoyed North's optimism, but right now he was kind of in a bad mood.

Jack looked very peaceful. After rinsing him off, they wrapped his chest in bandages and the boy _finally_ stopped bleeding. It was then that Bunny took the time to rinse off his own fur with the bucket of water that Tooth had brought to him. Afterwards, they gently moved Jack's body to another section of grass that wasn't soaked in blood.

Jack's sweater was folded neatly next to him, resting next to his staff. Tooth had taken the liberty to clean it off and then North had sewed the ripped part back together.

Bunny's gaze fell from the boy's sleeping face down to his bandaged chest.

He had never seen Jack without his sweater before, and although this wasn't the way Bunny had wanted to see it, he couldn't help the sudden heat that ran through his cheeks as his eyes flickered around the slim chest before him.

Now that Jack was cooled down, his skin was back to its moonlight paleness.

Bunny's eyes followed the trail of Jack's collarbone then observed the curve of his waist, the slight dip of his belly button, then followed the edge of each hip, barely covered by brown pants.

'_Jack's hurt, I shouldn't be staring at him.' _He thought.

However he continued to stare, nonetheless.

Tooth turned away from her fairies to looks at Bunny suspiciously. The large rabbit was staring hard at Jack, but not with the stare of a person who was lost in thought.

He was really staring _at_ Jack.

Tooth hadn't thought much of Bunny staying by Jack's side before. After all, Bunny was the one who dealt with most of the aftermath from Jack's attack. She knew the Pooka had carried Jack here while he was bleeding and unconscious.

'_That had to have been hard.'_ She thought.

But Bunny had been the most critical of Jack becoming a guardian during the fight against Pitch. Sure they had become close friends afterwards, but Bunny was acting as thought Jack was his entire world now. He was giving the boy more attention than he gave his eggs.

Or maybe it was something else.

Tooth gasped softly. 'Are Bunny and Jack…'

She trailed off, before Baby Tooth pecked her in the arm to get her attention.

"Oh!" She snapped out of her thoughts and finished giving orders to her swarm of fairies.

After the fairies disappeared through the tunnel, streams of golden sand appeared to replace them.

"Oh good Sandy, you're back!" she chimed as the short golden man descended into the warren and gave her a cheery salute.

His face fell however when he looked over to Jack and found the boy still sleeping. He peered up at Tooth and the shape of a clock and a question mark appeared above his head.

"He's been out this whole time, he hasn't opened his eyes once." Tooth said in a hushed tone.

Sandy looked at Bunny, then back to Tooth again. She already knew the dream spirit's question.

"No, Bunny hasn't moved either…I'm worried about him, Sandy." She whispered that last part in his ear.

Sandy nodded in understanding and they both hovered over to sit around Jack. Sandy plopped himself next to Bunny while Tooth gently settled on her knees across from them.

"Ah, Sandy you're back." Bunny greeted. The golden man smiled up at him.

Tooth ran a hand through Jack's hair and sighed. "He looks so peaceful, maybe its best if he sleeps until he heals."

"How long do you think it will take him to heal?" Bunny asked her.

She put a slim hand to her chin and murmured to herself thoughtfully.

"I don't know. Most spirits are fast healers…" She started. "But I can't remember a time when any of us were hurt this badly…aside from Sandy, but his body works differently than ours."

Tooth looked at said golden man, and he nodded in return. His body was primarily made of sand, so bleeding wasn't much of an issue for him.

Bunny nodded and grumbled a bit.

Sandy noticed the frozen bird still sitting on Bunny's shoulder and the dream spirit was hit with a sudden realization.

"What is it, Sandy?' Tooth asked when the man stood up and rapid shapes began forming above his head.

The golden figures switched from an ice cube, to an animal, then a flame, and then a picture of Jack.

"Hey, slow down mate, I can't understand what you're trying to say." Bunny stated.

Sandy huffed then pointed a finger to the bird on Bunny's shoulder.

"What, this little guy?" Bunny picked up the bird in his left hand. "What about em?"

A picture of a boot appeared above Sandy's head before hovering above the frozen bird as though to crush it.

"You want to break it!?" Bunny shielded the little creature with his other hand.

Sand shook his head in frustration and let out a silent breath.

"Could this have anything to do with Flicker breaking Jack's icelings?" Tooth asked.

Sandy nodded his head.

"Wait a second…" Bunny stated with wide eyes. "That's how Jack got hurt!"

Tooth looked at him in surprise and Sandy nodded again, happy that they finally understood what he was trying to say.

"Jack is too strong for some crazy weirdo to hurt him so easily…Flicker had to have crushed his icelings and then ambushed Jack while he was in pain!"

Bunny thought about what he had just said then his face darkened in anger.

"That dirty bastard!" Bunny growled.

Sandy jumped a bit at the rabbit's loud voice. He was one who preferred peace and quiet.

"Wait guys," Tooth said fearfully. "Jack still has icelings all over the place doesn't he?"

"Uh, oh." Bunny whispered.

"We have to go up and hide them!" Tooth stated.

Bunny looked at the little bird in his hands and spoke to it. "Do you think you could help Tooth and Sandy find your little friends?"

The bird's glass face stared back blankly.

Suddenly they all heard a soft moan from the still body before them.

"Jack!" Bunny said as he leaned over the boy.

Jack's eyes fluttered a bit and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Jack, can you hear us?" Tooth cooed while setting a gently hand on the boy's shoulder.

Jack's eyes suddenly went wide and he gasped as memories from previous events flooded back into him.

His fingers gripped at the grass beneath him and frost bloomed out from his hands and started to freeze the area around him. He was taking deep breaths but he soon gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut at the pain in his chest.

"Jack, clam down. It's all right, mate. You're safe. We're all here." Bunny spoke slowly and soothingly.

His voice seemed to calm the boy down a bit and Jack relaxed against the ground beneath him. He released the grass from his death grip and his face softened. He looked around blankly. He could feel his friends around him but he was having a hard time seeing.

His foggy eyes locked onto the bright gold form at his left and he squinted, trying to get his vision to focus.

"S-Sandy?" Jack's voice was quiet and it sounded hoarse.

The Sand Man nodded softly while looking at Jack with sad eyes. He put a small hand on the boy's arm to reassure his presence.

Jack's face contorted with pain again and he brought a shaky hand up and almost placed it on his wound before Tooth gently grabbed hold of it between her hands instead.

"You're wounded Jack, we have you wrapped in bandages so try not to touch them." She said.

Jack tried to squeeze one of Tooth's hands but his fingers merely twitched before going limp.

He made an attempt to speak in between his deep breaths.

"Tooth…Tooth's here…"

"Yes, I'm right here, Jack." She said while cradling the boy's hand in her own.

He turned his head to try and look at her but she could tell that his foggy blue eyes couldn't picture things very well at the moment.

Jack turned his head slowly from side to side, looking all around them.

"W-where…" Jack's voice was just above a whisper.

"You're in the Warren, mate. Don't worry about that flaming freako, you're safe with us." Bunny stated.

Jack's eyes were still searching. "M-my…my staff."

"It's right here Jack, right next to you." Tooth answered quickly.

Bunny had accidentally left the boy's staff back in the tunnel when he had escaped from Flicker, but Tooth had been nice enough to go and retrieve it. They all knew how important it was to Jack, after all.

Jack's hand slipped out of Tooth's grasp and shakily began searching the ground next to him for his staff.

Tooth picked it up and set it in the boy's palm, assuming that he wanted to feel it. Jack felt the safest when he was holding it in his hands, even thought he could use his powers without it, now that he had so many believers.

Jack squeezed the stick in his hand then sighed deeply.

"Guys…" he breathed.

"What is it, mate?" Bunny answered for them.

Jack gave a sheepish smile, but the pain was still evident in his face.

"I-I gotta do something real quick." He said quickly. He brought his shaking arm up and held his staff to his chest, right next to his injury.

"Uh…" Bunny sounded worried. "Just…what do you have to do, Jack?"

"Maybe it should wait until you're stronger." Tooth added and Sandy nodded in agreement.

"It can't." Jack whispered as he shut his eyes and brought his other hand to grip his staff as well, holding it firmly to his chest.

"But it's gonna take all my energy." Jack whispered, before taking a deep breath and adopting a very focused expression.

Bunny became panicky and his green eyes flickered between Tooth and Sandy before leaning over Jack and setting a hand firmly on the boy's own.

"Jack please-"

But the winter spirit was already glowing a bright blue.

They shielded their eyes as Jack's staff started shining brightly and Bunny lifted his hand away.

Soon Jack's entire body was glowing and waves of blue light began dancing off of him in patterns. They passed through Bunny, Sandy, and Tooth before stretching off into the darkness of the Warren's tunnels and disappearing.

"What's he doing?" Tooth asked, still shielding her eyes.

"I don't know, I've never seen him do this." Bunny replied.

Sandy then waved his arms the get their attention before pointing to the frozen bird on Bunny's shoulder.

They all stared at it with interest. The little creature was glowing a bright blue, just as Jack was and as Bunny looked closer he could see it's form begin to change.

It's body shook and it was shrinking rapidly. The creature fluttered its wings in protest before it's body changed completely and morphed into the form of a tiny snowflake.

Bunny held out his hand and caught the glass fragment before it fluttered into the grass.

"He's turning his icelings into snowflakes." Tooth stated in awe.

"So that Flicker can't find them." Bunny added. He was actually saddened a bit by the loss of his little ice friend and he held the glass snowflake to his chest protectively.

Jack's body continued to glow and send out blue waves for another thirty minutes, all while the other three guardians gazed at him in amazement.

When the light finally disappeared, Jack's body went limp and his head fell to the side along with his arms. His staff slid off of his body and Tooth caught it before it grazed his wound.

Jack Frost was unconscious once again.

"Ah…mate, why'd you have to go and wear yourself out?" Bunny said softly while setting a hand on Jack's thigh.

Sandy gazed at Jack sadly before flicking a stream of sand above the boy's head, causing golden snowflakes to circle over him as the man controlled Jack's dreams.

Tooth shifted Jack's head so that it rest in her lap while she ran her hands through his hair soothingly.

"He's so responsible, protecting his icelings even when he's this badly hurt." Tooth smiled down at him fondly.

Bunny nodded and held the glass snowflake to his eye, observing the blue glow from within its center.

Sandy observed Bunny, and then grinned hugely as he thought of a way to lighten the mood.

Bunny turned his attention back to the others when he heard Tooth start giggling.

"Just what is so funny-" Bunny choked when he saw the golden image that was hovering over Jack's head.

It was an image of Bunny, except he was dancing around ridiculously while flashing a top hat and a cane.

"Hey! Sandy, don't make him dream about _me!_"

Sandy laughed silently and hovered quickly away as Bunny tried to tackle him.

Sandy hopped up and shot another stream of sand over Jack's head, causing the image to change.

Now the golden form of Bunny was wearing a tutu and balancing on his toes like a ballerina.

Bunny gawked at the image, completely embarrassed.

"I'm gonna kill you Sandy!"

Bunny hopped after the little man as he jumped into the air and escaped on a cloud of sand.

Tooth couldn't help but laugh harder as she watched the two. She silenced however when she saw the image above Jack's head change.

Now it was just Bunny as his normal self, but he was in front of a little golden Jack Frost, and he was holding the boy closely to his chest.

Tooth put a hand over her mouth then looked to see Sandy still fleeing from Bunny's wrath.

'_Did Sandy make that happen?' _Tooth wondered.

She looked lower to see Jack's peaceful sleeping face. But there was now a violet blush across his pale cheeks.

* * *

Flicker stretched his flaming arms and yawned loudly, clouds of smoke escaping his open mouth.

'_Finally, it was morning!'_

He was standing on his tip toes at the point of a high building, the highest one he could find in his current location.

What was this town called anyway? Burgeress? Bergin?

He peered up at the sun, unbothered by the harsh light blazing into his eyes.

"Good morning, my lord." He bowed and spoke respectfully.

The sun continued to shine brightly, piercing through the surrounding clouds.

Flicker sighed in appreciation as he felt the sun's heat burn into him. His entire body ignited for a moment, giving him strength and healing the damage he had received earlier from the ice and cold.

"I have good new and bad news." Flicker began. He crouched more comfortably on top of the tower as his flames grew, fueling him with energy.

"The good news is- get ready, you're gonna be so proud of me, Sunny!" Flicker trailed off, beaming at the sky above him.

The sun continued to blaze.

"I found the one I've been looking for! The one who can balance my soul!" He put a hand over his flaming chest to emphasize his point.

The sun seemed to dim for a moment and then shine even brighter then before.

"I mean, it _did_ take me a while to find him, but I know for a fact that he is the _one_, there's no mistaking it." He puffed his chest out proudly.

Flicker then looked down and scratched the back of his head.

"And for the bad news…" He said quietly.

The sun dimmed a bit and Flicker held his hands in front of him in defense.

"Now before you say anything, you should know I fought with all my might for this, Sunny!"

The sky didn't change, and Flicker lowered his arms.

"You see, my little soul mate is a lot stronger than I thought he would be and he has a lot of friends protecting him who are just as strong as he is."

Flicker sighed and his shoulders slumped.

"And well, there's now way I can fight against them on my own."

Flicker was cautious about how the sun would react, but almost instantly the light before him grew incredibly brighter and an orange beam shot down and surrounded him.

Flicker grinned and gasped in awe as yellow lights danced down from the beam, soon followed by a large red bud that lowered and hovered in front of him.

The bud opened, and then split off into three pieces.

Now Flicker could see that three red flowers were surrounding him, each one bearing a dancing flame in their center.

One of them landed in his palm and he traced one of the petals with a finger.

Now those guardians didn't stand a chance.

Flicker looked up and beamed at the sun. "Thanks Sunny, I knew I could count on you!"

The sun finally dimmed back to its normal brightness and Flicker collected the rest of his flowers in his hands, peering down at them fondly.

Now it was time for stage one of his plan. _Which was brilliant, in his opinion._

'_Don't worry Jack, we'll be together soon.'_

* * *

Jamie sat at the end of his stairs as he tied his shoelaces before grabbing his book bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

He stepped outside and grimaced at how bright the sun was today.

"It's gonna be hot out this week." He said to himself. He instantly regretted choosing to wear a long black sleeve shirt with jeans.

He frowned. That probably meant that Jack wouldn't be around for a while.

Jamie couldn't wait for winter. He honestly wouldn't mind if Jack came and made it snow, even if it _was_ the middle of May.

He just wanted to see Jack again.

'_I hope he's not too upset.'_ Jamie thought.

He had been such an idiot to play that stupid game with him. It was a game he had heard about from one of his perverted friends in high school, a guy who did nothing but hook up with girls and do incredibly naughty things with them.

Of course Jack would have acted surprised, he's a spirit. He doesn't do intimate things, all he knows about is having fun with children.

'_At least I think that all he knows.'_

Jamie pondered as he walked down the sidewalk.

He wondered if spirits even could be intimate…Jack was _blushing_ last night, after all.

He now knew that Jack had the same _parts_ that normal human boy's had, but could he…use them?

Jamie blushed at his own thought. _'I'm such a pervert, I'm lucky Jack is still my friend after what I did.'_

He blushed even harder as the thought about last night and touching Jack's body. His skin was cold but it was so smooth and soft…

Jamie shook his head and halted before he almost collided with a mailbox.

'_Get a hold of yourself, Jamie.'_ He told himself.

He put a hand to his head but then turned as something caught his eye.

It was bright, and glowing like a flame as it fluttered past him.

He walked closer to it and squinted his eyes.

It looked like a snowflake…but it was red and it was on fire.

"Thats weird." Jamie whispered.

He suddenly looked all around him to see if Jack was nearby.

Did Jack pick up some sort of new trick, turning ice into fire?

The flaming snowflake fluttered quickly back up the sidewalk and Jamie followed it, becoming a little excited.

It was taking him towards the forest.

Maybe Jack was in the forest, trying to fend off the heat of the sun.

"Jack?" Jamie called out as the little flame flew in between the trees and disappeared.

Jamie looked around nervously.

For some reason he had a bad feeling in his gut.

He stepped forward anyway, and followed the burning glow as it traveled deeper into the woods.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7.**

* * *

Sandy sat on top of a giant stone egg, observing the Warren's surroundings in thought.

Bunny was still in the grass next to Jack as the boy slept, but the area looked very peaceful. There were a lot of little white eggs running around, along with butterflies and bees buzzing about the flowers. The grass was lush and healthy and the moss was glowing bright as it slowly grew upon the walls.

It was a beautiful sight.

So why did Sandy have such a bad feeling at the moment? Like something horrible was happening.

The dream spirit shook his head and floated down towards Bunny and Jack.

Tooth had left hours ago to tend to things in her palace after a few teeth had gotten mixed up.

"You think we should switch his bandages again?" Bunny asked as the man floated down next to him.

Sandy put a hand to his chin and nodded.

He kneeled down before the sleeping winter spirit and began unwrapping the white cloth from his chest while bunny fetched another roll from the pile of medical supplies North had brought on one of his visits.

Sandy carefully lifted the cloth from Jack's wound and peered at it intently.

"What? How's it look?" Bunny asked.

Sandy smiled up at him and the Pooka leaned down so that he could see for himself.

The hole in Jack's chest was almost completely healed over, only leaving a minor gash and some purple bruising under the skin.

Bunny and Sandy both beamed at each other.

"Well, that was a lot faster than I had expected." Bunny chuckled. He felt overjoyed.

Sandy grinned and an image of a bunch of little golden children appeared above his head.

"You think it's because he has so many believers?" Bunny asked.

Sandy nodded then took the new bandages from Bunny and carefully re-attended to Jack's wound.

When he finished, he observed Jack happily but then frowned and looked up at the earth above him, gaze boring into the brown ceiling.

"Everything alright, Sandy?"

Sandy quickly smiled and nodded. He didn't want to cause Bunny any more stress after the Pooka had gone through that awful ordeal with Jack and Flicker.

A golden version of Sandy delivering dreams appeared about the Sand Man's head and Bunny nodded in understanding.

"Ah, are there some kiddies taking naps in the day?" Bunny asked.

Sandy forced a smile and made a plane appear out of sand before he hopped into it.

"Alright mate, just keep a look out for Flicker while you're up there!"

Sandy nodded but looked serious when he turned away.

He still had a bad feeling.

Bunny watched the man's golden plane fly off through one of his tunnels, then he sighed and fell back against the grass with a yawn.

"Tired?" a soft voice asked.

"Yeah, a little. I've been in the same position all-"

'_Wait a minute…'_

Bunny trailed off before looking down to see Jack smiling up at him.

"Jack!" Bunny hopped onto his feet and leaped to the boy's side. "You're awake!"

Jack grinned and then peered into the tunnel where Sandy had just disappeared.

"Where is Sandy going?" he asked.

Bunny happily noted that there was a lot more life in Jack's voice and as the boy moved his arms a bit, there was no sign of shakiness or strain.

"Just delivering some late dreams." Bunny replied.

Jack nodded, then his brow furrowed and he looked around.

"What time is it, anyway?" he asked.

Bunny chuckled and settled comfortably into the grass beneath him.

"Around noon, I suppose." Bunny said.

"You're a fast healer, by the way." He added, gesturing to Jack's bandages.

Jack looked down at himself but instead of focusing on his bandages, he suddenly was shocked at the sight of his bare chest.

"W-where's my-" Jack paused and looked around while bringing his arms up to cover his naked chest.

Bunny observed Jack's actions with interest.

'_Was Jack…self conscious?' _Bunny smiled at the thought.

Jack finally located his mended sweater and brought it over his arms, about to slip it on, before Bunny stopped him.

"Hey, we still need to keep an eye on your wound, you can put it on later." Bunny's tone was gentle but there was a hint of amusement he was trying his best to hide.

Jack frowned and settled the sweater on top of himself instead, covering his chest entirely, _Much to Bunny's disappointment._

"You don't have to be embarrassed you know, it's just me. And you're in the Warren, the only people here are eggs." Bunny stated.

Jack looked away from the Pooka.

"It's not that I'm embarrassed I just…I've never taken it off before…"

Jack had always used his sweater to isolate himself from the outside world while hiding his hands in his pockets or covering his face with his hood. It made him feel protected.

Without it, he felt extremely vulnerable and exposed.

Jack trailed off and Bunny was about to add something insightful to Jack's words, but the boy was looking around again with frantic eyes.

"Where's Tooth…and North?" he asked.

"Palace and the Pole." Bunny answered simply.

"They have been in and out of here constantly while you were sleeping, though."

Jack nodded and then he looked down and grew quiet.

"Bunny." Jack spoke softly.

The Pooka leaned in closer, taking note of the softness in Jack's voice.

"Thanks for saving me…I mean…I remember hearing your voice." Jack's face was contorted, obviously troubled by the memory.

Bunny put a gentle hand on the boy's arm. "Of course mate, you would have done the same for me."

The look on Jack's face didn't change and Bunny settled himself closer to the winter spirit, before letting his hand rest on the boy's covered shoulder.

"Tell me what happened." Bunny said.

Jack gave a half-hearted smile. "I shouldn't have left Jamie's house." He said, repeating Bunny's words from earlier.

"_Why_ did you leave Jamie's house?" Bunny asked, urging Jack to explain.

"Some of my icelings…have a lot more power than others." Jack brought his hands up in front of him to try and help him explain.

Bunny remained silent, but nodded.

"And Flicker…well he broke a weaker one first so that I would go in the woods. It was a trap." Jack continued.

Bunny nodded. Sandy's guess about Flicker breaking the icelings had been right.

"But even then, I would have been strong enough to fight him."

Bunny's brow furrowed. "Then how could he…"

"He found another," Jack added. "And _that_ one happened to be the strongest one I've ever created."

Jack sighed and grimaced. "It was the owl I kept outside of Jamie's window…I shouldn't of sent it out into the forest for so long…man, it hurt so bad when it broke."

Jack's eyes were closed and he was taking deep breaths.

Bunny nodded, though he could never fully understand the experience Jack had encountered.

"So that's when he hurt you…right after the owl?"

Jack nodded, absent-mindedly laying a hand over his wound.

Bunny sighed but then ruffled the boy's white hair, causing Jack to grin.

"Well, there's no way he can break them anymore, right?" Bunny said as he reached over and held up the little glass snowflake.

"Oh, whoops, I didn't mean to change yours." Jack said.

He brought one of his hands up and touched the snowflake with a fingertip, causing the ice to shift and suddenly revert back to it's bird form.

Bunny smiled as the little thing chirped and flew onto his shoulder.

"Hey, welcome back, little Jack!" Bunny sang.

Jack frowned and his cheeks tinted purple. "Little Jack?" he asked.

"What?" Bunny stated with a grin as he stroked the frozen bird. "These things are basically _you_, just in a much smaller package."

Jack laughed. He had never thought of that.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the pitter-patter of little egg feet as Jack stared up at the ground above him.

He hated being stuck in one place, he wanted to move, and feel the wind carry him around in the air.

"Hey, Bunny?" Jack asked after a while.

"Eh?" Bunny had a line of eggs waiting in front of him as he picked up each one and examined them for cracks.

"Can I talk to you about…something?"

Bunny looked away from his eggs. Jack's tone was giving the Pooka an odd feeling.

"…about?" Bunny urged.

"Jamie." Jack replied.

Bunny smiled. "Oh, of course, mate." Jack often came to Bunny for advice about Jamie, especially since the kid had hit puberty.

"What's up? Is he having those mood swings again?" Bunny asked as he returned to his eggs, which were currently kicking at him to gain back his attention.

"Not really…he had me play some weird game with him." Jack replied as his gaze ventured around the Warren.

"Oh, what kind of game?" Bunny asked. He was starting to loose interest.

"A game where you touch each other." Jack replied rather quietly.

This caused Bunny to pause and then choke, before turning himself around to look at Jack's with wide eyes.

"What?!"

Jack smiled sheepishly. "I mean, I didn't really think much of it at first. I was tickling him to death the whole time…but when it was his turn to touch me…"

"Wait a second, wait a second," Bunny held a hand up with his eyes closed. Expression contorted into a mix of confusion and disbelief.

"What kind of _bloody_ game _is_ this?"

Jack chuckled a bit and scratched his head.

"Jamie called it _nervous_, it sounded innocent enough…' He trailed off.

"Innocent?" Bunny looked appalled. "What kind of _innocent_ game has a name like that?!" Bunny placed a hand on his forehead to calm himself when he realized he was shouting.

Bunny had been worried about something like this happening with Jamie.

'_That little devilish teenager!'_

Jack observed the Pooka, wondering why he was freaking out so much. Its not like _Bunny_ was the one who had been touched strangely.

"Okay…okay," Bunny took a deep breath.

"So what happened when Jamie touched you?" Bunny asked slowly.

Jack looked around the Warren, pretending like it was hard for him to remember while it was actually still fresh in his mind.

"Nothing really…it was just, the way he was touching me was kind of weird…and my body kept getting colder, I couldn't control my temperature."

Bunny looked thoughtful at that last part. _'Jack can't control his temperature when he is being touched?'_

An image of Jack arching on the ground with a pleasured face and frost collecting on his features entered the Pooka's mind. He shook his head wildly to try and fend off the image.

'_What's so attractive about Jack not being able to control his powers?'_

"Okay…" Bunny said carefully. "So _where_ did he touch you exactly?"

Bunny noticed Jack's cheeks turn purple after a moment before the boy laughed and looked away from him.

"Oh…just here…" Jack held his hand up and pointed down and his chest.

"And here…" Jack then pointed to his stomach.

"And…here." Jack spoke very quietly before quickly pointing towards his hips for a split second and then snatching his hand back to his side.

Bunny barely caught that last motion.

"He what!?" Bunny's mouth dropped open.

He hadn't expected Jamie to go _that_ far.

"I think it might have been an accident though! Yeah, it must have been!" Jack laughed nervously.

Bunny shook his head and sighed deeply. Clearly Jack didn't understand the extent of Jamie's feelings.

"Jack, I think the fact that Jamie _wanted_ to play that game with you, says something."

Jack gave him a curious look.

"Says, what?" he asked, a bit nervous.

"It says that Jamie has _feelings_ for you…feelings that go deeper than friendship."

Jack paused and his eyes widened fully. Some of Jamie's behavior suddenly made sense to him. All those times he would blush or nuzzle closer to his body…all those compliments and nervous touches that Jack thought nothing of…

Did Jamie actually…_love_ him?

Bunny observed the way Jack's face lit up in thought, knowing that the boy understood.

"Jamie…loves me." Jack said softly, mostly to himself.

His expression suddenly turned very sad and Bunny frowned, assuming that Jack was against the idea of Jamie liking him.

"Yeah well, " Bunny started as he turned back to his eggs.

"Jamie is a human and you're a spirit, after all, so you don't have to worry about those feelings. Something like that would never-"

Bunny cut off when he felt Jack hit him rather roughly on the leg.

He yelped, and then looked down at Jack with wide eyes. "What was that for-"

He paused when he saw Jack's face. The boy was giving him an icy glare and he looked completely offended.

"Don't say something like that, I would never turn down Jamie's feelings just because we're different!" His tone was harsh.

Bunny blinked. He hadn't expected Jack to react so badly.

'_I really need to think about what I say before I say it._' He thought.

"Sorry! I-I didn't- I mean, I thought…" Bunny stuttered.

Jack's glare softened and he sighed. "I mean…love is love…it doesn't matter how different you are." He said quietly.

Bunny instantly closed his mouth shut and froze in surprise as his mind registered what Jack had said.

'_Love is love?' _Bunny repeated the words in his head.

'_Jack really doesn't care if someone who loves him is different?...he would…love them back?'_

A smile suddenly inched its way onto Bunny's face, but he then frowned and looked away when he remembered that it was _Jamie_ they were talking about.

"So do you…" Bunny began, trying to hide the worry in his tone.

Jack peered up at him curiously.

"Do you…love Jamie then?" Bunny asked.

Jack sighed and looked down. A pained expression appeared on his face.

"I would have tried to love him back but…Jamie keeps getting older. He's going to die one day and I'll still be here…so having a relationship like that with him would just hurt too much."

Bunny nodded. He understood the boy's sorrow about Jamie getting older. They all feared the day when one of their beloved children would end up buried in a grave.

However, the Pooka couldn't help but feel relieved and also hopeful about Jack's feelings.

"Jack." Bunny said softly.

Jack turned his head but then shifted back a bit when he saw Bunny's face a few inches from his own.

"I'll never die, ya know…" Bunny said softly.

Jack smiled and nodded, but there was something about the rabbit's tone that made the violet blood rush to Jack's cheeks.

"Yeah…you better not!" Jack chuckled.

Bunny remained close to Jack, debating in his head whether or not to take action.

The Pooka's face moved closer to the boy and his nose twitched as it picked up Jack's sent. He sighed deeply and moved closer to breathe in more.

"Bunny?" Jack grew a bit nervous when he could feel the rabbit's whiskers on his neck.

Then a bright light appeared in the center of the Warren before swirling around into a portal. Bunny tore his body away from the boy and Jack turned his head in surprise.

North stepped through the portal carrying a large sack over his shoulder.

When he saw Jack he grinned hugely and walked over.

"Jack! Awake at last! How do you feel?"

North was happy to see that the boy was doing better. The color had returned to his face and there was plenty of life in those blue eyes.

He also took note of the heavy glare that Bunny was sending him. _'Did I interrupt something?'_

"North! I'm doing great!" Jack stated happily as he shifted a bit from where he was laying on the ground.

The spirit of wonder skipped to the boy's side then flipped his sack onto the ground next to them with a _thump_.

He kneeled next to Jack and observed his bandages carefully while stroking his beard.

Jack smiled and tried to sit up. He winced, as there was still a bit of pain in his chest and Bunny immediately grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him back down.

"Easy mate, you shouldn't be moving around yet." Bunny said.

Jack laughed. "But I feel fine, Bunny."

"Ah, yes you fell _fine_," North added. "But when I'm done with you, you will be feeling _fantastic!_"

Bunny and Jack gazed up at the large man cautiously.

"When…you're done with me?" Jack asked.

North laughed loudly then pulled his sack towards them and began rummaging through its contents.

"Just a few remedies from the Yeti's and the elves, they heard you were injured and they wanted to help." North explained with a smile.

Jack and Bunny exchanged looks.

"I'm not really sure thats necessary." Bunny stated, having about feeling about these so-called _remedies_. "Jack's wound has healed a lot, I'm not sure he-"

"Bunny, Bunny, Bunny." North spoke his name like the rabbit was a toddler.

"Trust me, I _know_ what I'm doing." The man chuckled.

He then pulled out several candles, a box of matches, a large book, a box of cookies, a few bells, and an actual living elf, which he placed next to him, lining them up parallel to Jack's body.

Jack and Bunny looked at each other again. Jack looked fearful while Bunny was about to burst into laughter.

"Alright, let us begin!" North stated.

* * *

Sandy was standing on a balloon made of sand. He was gazing around the city thoughtfully as his dream sand swirled away from him in waves, dancing around houses and taking note of each child's presence.

He knew school had just ended and even if the children hadn't gone straight home, his sand trails could still find them.

There was one child however, that his sand was having a lot of trouble finding. And that certain child gave Sandy a bad feeling in his stomach.

_But it was possible his sand had made a mistake._

He frowned and changed the balloon he was standing on into a giant fish before riding it towards Jamie's house.

He leaped from his sand and gently hovered into the boy's window.

Jamie wasn't in his room.

Sandy scratched the back of his head then stepped carefully into the house and pattered down the stairs.

He saw Jamie's mother on the phone, her voice sounded a bit frantic. He also saw Jamie's father walking around the house and calling out Jamie's name.

Sophie was sitting on a chair at the table with a very fearful expression on her face.

Now Sandy was worried. The dream spirit quickly hovered out of the house and stood on top of their roof.

He had to be sure that Jamie's hadn't just run from home in a rebellious fit. He had to be sure that Jamie _really_ _was _missing.

Sandy brought his arms above him and sent out more streams of dream sand to swivel quickly around the houses and certain areas of the city. They shot through windows and swirled around lampposts, searching every inch of the town for Jamie's presence.

After a while, Sandy's arms fell and his eyes went wide.

He had searched the entire city, but Jamie was gone.

* * *

**Things will get more exciting in the next chapter :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I tried drawing a sketch of Flicker and I set it as my avatar. I drew him kind of young-looking though…so…try to image him **_**older**_**. In the story he is supposed to be a man…but…whatever.**

**Thank you everyone, for staying with this story! This chapter is really long so there might be some grammar errors. **

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Sandy was frantic as he flew down through the grassy tunnel and descended quickly towards the Warren.

He had created a makeshift rocket out of sand and was clinging to it carefully, so he wouldn't fall off. He usually didn't make such fast moving objects, but he considered this an emergency.

The rocket finally blasted through the opening of the tunnel, sending sand flying in every direction as he entered the Warren.

He spotted Jack and the others and he leaped off of his ride, letting it disperse back into streams of sand.

Upon hovering closer to the three guardians however, Sandy had to pause and wait for his mind to register the sight before him.

Jack was lying very still on the ground, with his blue sweater back on and Bunny was still by his side, the same place the Pooka had been all day. But now North was next to them and he was holding a large book while reading strange verses that Sandy recognized as the Yeti's language.

Several burning candles surrounded Jack's body and there was a single elf standing by the boy's head. The little creature had a scowl on its face and was trying to shove cookies into Jack's mouth while ringing several tiny bells in it's other hand.

Jack was grimacing, looking helpless while Bunny had a huge smile on his face.

North paused in his reading when he saw Sandy hover up next to them.

"Sandy! You're back!" North bellowed. He shut his book and spread his arms out in a welcome.

The dream spirit's face contorted into confusion and he held his hands out, gesturing to the scene in front of him while a golden question mark appeared above his head.

"We're preforming remedies to…pfft… to help with Jack's healing." Bunny explained, trying very hard not to burst into a fit of laughter.

"What is so funny?" North asked the Pooka in a scolding tone.

The rabbit could only cover his mouth with a hand, as he tried to contain his laughter.

Sandy stared at them for a moment but then shook his head, adopting a serious expression.

Jack's brow furrowed at the look on the dream spirit's face.

"What is it Sandy?" Jack asked.

The question caused Bunny to go quiet and he and North both looked at Sandy expectantly.

Sandy took a deep breath then images started forming rapidly above his head, but they changed too fast for any of them to follow.

"Whoa, slow down mate. I can't understand you." Bunny said, eyes flickering back in forth between each image appearing over Sandy's head.

Sandy sighed, and then looked at Jack carefully. He knew the only was to explain himself now was to use words, but he feared it would cause Jack to react on impulse.

The others watched as the dream spirit looked down with a very cautious expression and then the sand above his head formed into letters.

-Jamie is gone-

All of their eyes went wide and Jack instantly jumped to his feet, ignoring the slight pain in his chest. He then froze and stared at the golden letters before him.

"Gone? You mean..." Bunny breathed.

The wind reacted to Jack's sudden emotion and blew out the candles surrounding them, leaving several trials of smoke behind.

Bunny was about to place his hands on Jack's shoulders to force the boy to lie back down, but Jack suddenly flew forward and landed on his knees before Sandy. He placed both of his hands on the dream spirit's shoulders and searched his face.

"How long has he been gone? Did you see Flicker? Did Flicker take him? Did you see Jamie?"

Jack spoke quickly with a desperate tone, but Sandy simply shook his head sadly at each question the boy asked.

"Hah…" Jack gasped as he moved his head to stare wide eyed at the ground. His shoulders were shaking and Sandy moved a small hand up to place it comfortingly on Jack's arm.

'_Its all might fault!' _Jack thought.

Flicker took Jamie because of _him_! And he had been resting this whole time in the Warren without a clue. He should have checked on Jamie before. He should have had his icelings looking after him!

'_I have to go find him!'_

His head snapped up, eyes still wide.

He could hear North quickly working out a plan as they thought about how to rescue Jamie.

"We'll need to use something to contact Tooth as soon as possible. Sandy and I will take the Sleigh and search for Flicker in the air, while you and Jack search the ground." North continued and Bunny nodded quickly to each statement.

The Pooka turned his attention back to Jack and saw the boy still kneeling before Sandy while the dream spirit tried to comfort him.

Damn that bastard Flicker! How _dare_ he touch a child, and Jamie of all people! He was going to pay for this…and Jack was still hurt…

He suddenly froze as he saw Jack's face turn and lock onto one of his tunnels, blue eyes glowing with confidence.

"NO!" Bunny leaped forward, launching himself at Jack in an attempt to grab hold of the boy.

Jack was quicker however, and dodged the rabbit's arms before shooting forward on a gust of wind and propelling himself into one of the tunnels.

Bunny was instantly racing after him on all fours, as he yelled at the boy from behind.

"Stop Jack, don't go by yourself! That's what Flicker wants!" The rabbit's body disappeared into the tunnel as North and Sandy both stood in shock.

North collected himself then pulled a snow globe out of his coat and turned to look down at Sandy.

"We have to act quickly! There is no time to contact Tooth."

Sandy nodded in agreement as North whispered into the globe before tossing it to the ground.

A bright swirling portal opened, and both guardians walked through.

* * *

Jack was hovering in the clouds and looking all around himself. All he could see was the harsh rays of the sun gleaming down at him. _Why was it so bright?_

He felt frantic…and helpless.

Now that he had hidden all his icelings there was no way he could contact any of them for guidance as a way to find Flicker.

Jack huffed and spit ice out of his mouth angrily.

He didn't know how, but he was going to find Flicker and make the man pay for laying a finger on Jamie.

He would freeze every inch of the continent if he had to.

Jack did a double take when he noticed a small orange ball flutter past his vision.

He flew over to it and observed it before grasping it in his fist, causing the flame to go out and leave behind a black ash in Jack's palm.

_Flicker had to be close._

Jack looked down to see another ball of fire hovering close by and when he flew down towards it and peered past the clouds, he could see a whole trail of glowing balls appearing from the East.

Jack knew it was a trap, but all he cared about at the moment was finding Jamie.

He flipped his staff behind him and shot his body forwards to follow the trail of flames.

* * *

Bunny stood on the ground and stared upwards. His ears were up in the air and his body was alert, looking very much like a real rabbit.

There wasn't much he could do when Jack disappeared into the clouds.

For once he hated being the only guardian who couldn't fly.

Bunnymund ran through the forest for a while, hoping that he could spot Jack flying above him at some point, but the sun was blinding him.

He halted and kicked a tree stump in frustration. He had told himself he wasn't going to leave Jack's side, and here he was, stuck on the ground with no clue as to what direction the winter spirit had gone.

And Jack was still injured!

'_I have to go back and find North.'_ He thought. He felt kind of ashamed.

He tapped his foot onto the ground but as soon as his tunnel opened a little blue streak flew out of it.

Bunny grinned as he saw his ice bird fly down and circle his head before perching itself on his hand.

"Hey, good timing little guy. You think you could help me find Jack?" He asked.

The little creature's glass eyes gleamed and it tweeted.

"Alright then!" Bunny cheered as he opened up another tunnel.

* * *

Jack lowered himself slowly to the ground and dodged trees as he entered a forest he had never seen before.

He had been flying and following the balls of fire for hours until the trail finally dropped back towards the earth.

He looked around as his bare feet met twigs and grass. Despite the shade from the trees; the sun was still blazing down on him, making him breath harder.

He cautiously ventured through the foreign woods, staff pointing forward. Was this place close to the equator?

Jack has spent three-hundred years venturing the world and bringing snow with him, but he had never once seen _this_ place.

He paused when his feet met hard stone instead of grass.

He peered forward to see that the forest suddenly broke off and engulfed an area made of rock rather than dirt.

The stone was sizzling hot from the sun, so Jack produced ice from the bottoms of his feet to cool down the entire clearing as he stepped forward. _It took quite a bit of effort to cool it down, though. Geez. _

Jack walked into the center then looked around curiously.

Giant gray statues surrounded the area. Each one stood along the edge near the forest, creating a circle of bulky stone masses. They were facing the center of the clearing in the exact spot where Jack stood.

He flew closer to one and observed it with interest.

It towered over him. The statue's shape was very much like a human's, aside from it's lack of a face and armor covered body.

Every statue had their hands closed together in front of their missing faces.

'_It looks like they're praying._' Jack thought.

Suddenly the stone soldier shifted with a loud _Crack_.

Jack leaped back in surprise while aiming his staff at the giant mass.

The statue's chest began glowing a bright red and strange markings appeared and traveled upwards to cover the soldier's smooth face.

Jack looked around quickly to see that the other statues had begun glowing as well and their thick arms slowly dropped from their positions of holy prayer.

Jack twirled around in a circle, his heart beating frantically as the statues started stepping closer to him with loud thuds against the hard stone.

'_What the hell are these things?' _He thought.

"Jackie, You came for me!"

Jack's eyes narrowed when he heard Flicker's voice and he instantly turned around and shot ice in the spot where it came from. But the only thing that froze was the arm of one of the surrounding statues, all of which had halted and were standing in a circle around Jack.

Flicker appeared then, jumping up from behind the statue that Jack froze. The flaming spirit grinned and observed the ice covered stone.

"Ooo, that wasn't nice."

Jack shot another beam of ice at Flicker, but the man dodged it with a back flip and perched onto the head of a different statue.

"Where's Jamie!?" Jack yelled as he crouched and pointed his staff at the man's head.

Flicker chuckled and relaxed his body against the statue's shoulders while throwing an arm around the thing's bulking neck. The red glowing patters seemed to shine even brighter against the flame spirit's touch.

"Do you like my new friends?" The spirit asked, giving the statue under him a good pat.

Jack shot ice at him again, but it only hit the statue's face as Flicker leaped behind it.

"Where's Jamie!?" Jack demanded a second time.

Flicker appeared again from behind a statue on the opposite side of the stone clearing and Jack spun around, glaring hard at the flaming man.

"Who? That little boy?" Flicker asked with a false look of innocence.

"Why do you need him? You have _me_, after all." Flicker smiled and put a hand to his chest.

Jack's fists shook with rage as blue energy began storing from within his staff.

Flicker leaned over and squinted his yellow eyes. They scanned Jack's body up and down with interest.

"Has your injury healed _already_, Jack?"

Jack ignored the question. "I swear if you lay one finger on Jamie-"

"You'll what?"

Jack jolted when he heard the voice appear right behind him. Then Flicker leaned over and licked the shell of Jack's ear with a hot tongue.

"Gah!" Jack yelled as he flipped around and released the energy from his staff and shot it straight into Flicker's chest.

The flaming spirit simply put a hand up to block the attack and the ice melted and faded away on contact.

Jack's eyes went wide in horror. "Wha…"

"What do you think, Jack?" Flicker asked as he held his hands up in pride.

"I'm really strong now that my lord has given me new powers, aren't I?" The man grinned up at the sky and Jack followed his gaze until he was squinting up at the blazing sun.

'_The sun?'_ Jack thought. His brow furrowed.

Flicker grinned as he observed his beloved winter spirit_. _He pushed his arms out and effortlessly caused a huge wave of fire to circle around the clearing, surrounding the entire area in flames.

Jack's gaze followed the flames and a spike of fear arose in his eyes.

He did _not_ like fire.

"Well?" Flicker urged while taking a step towards the winter spirit.

"You didn't answer me."

Jack jolted again and leaped away when Flicker appeared only an inch in front of him. The flaming man took slow steps towards the boy and Jack backed away cautiously.

He gasped however, when his back met one of the statues and large stone arms immediately grabbed him and lifted him off of his feet.

Jack started flailing in the stone's clutches, kicking his legs wildly. His staff was stuck in between his arms as he tried to loosen the soldier's grip.

Flicker beamed and leaped closer to Jack, his face only inches away. The boy froze for a moment to stare back at Flicker with wide eyes.

"Jack, why do you keep struggling?" Flicker asked.

For once, Jack could hear honest emotion in the spirit's words.

"Can't you see it?" Yellow eyes looked deep into blue ones as the man spoke.

"We're soul mates! We belong together! We may be opposite, but our powers are meant to balance one another!" The man's eyes gleamed, and his expression turned joyful.

Jack frowned and he tried to look away but Flicker shifted his face to stay in front of the boy's gaze. He was waiting for an answer.

"So, I'm the reason you've been doing all this? The only thing you want is _me_?"

Flicker grinned and nodded. _Was Jack finally coming to his senses?_

Jack's blue eyes met Flicker's and the boy spoke in a low tone.

"Then let Jamie go, he has nothing to do with this." He stated.

Flicker frowned, but the licked his lips and chuckled.

"Very well, anything for my lovely frosty rose."

Flicker stepped backwards from Jack and flicked his wrist; causing the stone soldier to release it's hold.

Jack fell to his feet and rubbed his arms, before looking at Flicker cautiously.

The flaming man lifted a hand and pointed a blazing finger in Jack's direction.

"However," The man chimed. "You have to do something for me, if you want your little friend back."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Like what?" He asked, already dreading the answer.

Flicker licked his lips again. "You'll see."

The man walked forward and placed a foot carefully onto a random spot in the center of the stone clearing. "Do you know anything about portals, Jack?" Flicker asked as the ground beneath his shoe began glowing bright orange and a circular portal opened up in front of him.

It acted very much like one of North's snow globes.

Jack braced his feet against the ground as he watched the man reach an arm through the glowing opening and pull out a small form.

Jack gasped and lowered his staff, his composure instantly melted.

"Jamie!" He yelled, voice breaking.

Flicker chuckled as he held the little brunette in front of him. There was a cloth around the boy's mouth to keep him quiet and another was trapping the teen's arms firmly behind his back.

Jamie's whole body was shaking in fear and there were tears welling up in his eyes.

He let out a muffled cry that sounded like Jack's name.

Jack gave the teen a gently smile, though his own heart was beating rapidly against his chest.

"It's alright Jamie, you're going to be okay. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Jamie's shoulders shuddered with silent sobs but the teen shook his head.

Jack started walking toward the boy but halted when Flicker held a flaming hand next to the teen's face. Jamie winced and squeezed his eyes shut in fear.

"I need a favor from you first, Jack." Flicker stated lowly.

Jack glared back at the man.

"Fine." He replied.

Flicker grinned hugely and the flames on his shoulders grew with excitement.

Jack watched as the flame spirit held out his fist and opened it, allowing a red flower to hover from his palm and gently flutter in front of him.

Jack squinted, observing the little plant curiously. The flower's petals were a dark, blood red and there was a small flame dancing in the center.

Jack looked questioningly back at Flicker and the man grinned.

"Eat it."

Jack's brow furrowed and his gaze shifted from Flicker and back to the floating flower.

Jamie began struggling in the flame spirit's grip while letting out muffled sobs.

"All I have to do is eat this and you'll let Jamie go?" he asked.

Flicker nodded and played with a lock of Jamie's hair, twirling it around in his hot fingers.

Jack narrowed his eyes and picked the flower up with his fingertips. He observed it as it dangled from his grasp by a petal.

It was only a flower, but the fact that it was _on fire_ would probably be bad for Jack's health. And part of him knew there had to be some sort of magic connected to this plant. Something would probably happen to him once he ate it.

_'But i don't have a choice.'_ He thought.

Jack turned his attention back to Jamie and smiled softly at him. Jamie was shaking his head at Jack. Even _he_ knew there was something fishy about that flower.

"Don't worry about me Jamie, I'm a Guardian. I'm going to be alright, and so are you."

Jamie continued to stare at Jack. He stopped sobbing but there were tears streaming down his face.

The image broke Jack's heart.

Jack's eyes suddenly flicked to a spot behind Jamie's head when he noticed a gray tail shoot past his vision.

_'Was that...?'_

Jack quickly tore his eyes away so that Flicker wouldn't notice.

He looked back at Jamie and smiled encouragingly at the teen as he straightened his body and held the flower above his face.

Jamie was shaking his head frantically while Flicker leaned over, his expression filled with eagerness.

Jack opened his mouth but paused and took a step forward. He held his other hand out with his staff tucked between his arm and the side of his body.

"I have to be sure that you're going to let Jamie go." Jack said.

Flicker frowned and blew smoke out of his nose in irritation. He pushed Jamie forward so that he would be closer to Jack, but still kept a firm hold on the back of Jamie's arms.

Jack slowly inched closer.

His left hand almost touched Jamie's arm but Flicker immediately yanked the boy back a bit before growling impatiently.

"Eat it, Jack!"

Jack paused with his mouth still open.

He closed his eyes and released the flower.

Bright petals slowly floated into Jack's mouth.

"NO!"

Jack's eyes snapped open when he heard Bunnymund's yell and he bit down on the flower just before it fell into his mouth.

Flicker spun around in surprise when the Pooka appeared and launched himself into the stone soldier that stood behind it's flaming master.

The statue teetered a bit and threw its bulky arms out to balance itself, but it toppled over anyway with Bunny standing on top of it.

Jack took advantage of Flicker's sudden distraction and grabbed hold of Jamie's arm. He tugged hard and practically ripped the teen from Flicker's grasp.

He wrapped the boy protectively in his arms as he jumped back and leaped into the air. He kicked off of a statue's head to propel himself over the ring of fire, but it suddenly grew even taller.

Jack halted and looked around frantically.

'_I have to get Jamie out of here.'_

Flicker was enraged. He yelled out in anger and the flames on his shoulders expanded, almost igniting his entire body. He reached out to the flames surrounding the clearing and they grew harsher.

Bunny was busy fighting off stone soldiers as they all began gathering around him to fend off the intruder. Lucky for him, they were extremely slow and he spun around one of them before kicking it hard in the head. It toppled over and Bunny stood on it's back. His eyes searched the air for Jack.

He spotted the winter spirit at the other end of the clearing. The boy had Jamie wrapped in his arms and was zipping around quickly, trying to find an escape. However, the flames were growing larger in front of him every time he moved towards the edge.

Relief swept over him when he noticed the red flower was crushed in between the boy's teeth.

'_Thank goodness, he didn't swallow it.'_

He had been listening to Jack and Flicker's conversation while hiding behind the trees. He knew something bad would happened if Jack ate that flower. It looked exactly like one of the flowers the Man in the Moon had warned them about.

Bunny dodged a soldier as it tried to swipe him with an arm. He leaped out of the pile of statues, then noticed Flicker flying up towards Jack, flaming hands extended.

Bunny reacted quickly and threw his boomerang, causing it to fly around and strike Flicker in the head with a _thwack_.

The flaming man cried out and fell back to the stone ground.

He held his head and looked around the clearing with angry eyes. There was fire escaping from his mouth and the flames around his body were growing with each second.

His yellow eyes landed on Bunnymund and he growled.

Bunny caught his boomerang as it flew back to him and he beckoned the demon closer with his other hand. _'Come on, I dare you to fight me.'_

Flicker was about the charge the rabbit but he looked up in surprise when North's sleigh suddenly appeared in the sky and took out a few trees at it descended lower.

Bunny smiled when he saw North and Sandy both peering over the edge of the sleigh, faces filled with fury.

Jack flew closer to the sleigh as the reindeer pulled it over the stone clearing.

"Fwandy!" Jack yelled with the flower still in his mouth.

He threw Jamie into the air with all his might and Sandy stood on the edge of the sleigh with his hands out.

Jamie's body flew a bit short, but Sandy caught him with dream sand and pulled the boy safely onto the sleigh.

Flicker growled and he shook with rage.

_His plan was completely falling apart…he had to do something._

He noticed the red flower still stuck between Jack's teeth.

He held out his hand towards Jack and curled his fingers. He reached out to the flower with his powers, begging for it to react.

"Swallow!" Flicker screamed.

Jack's eyes went wide in surprise when the flower in his mouth suddenly slipped past his teeth. The petals started moving on their own and he choked as it crawled down his throat.

Bunny saw the flower enter Jack's mouth and his eyes went wide. He leaped towards Jack, but a stone foot suddenly slammed hard into his back, forcing him onto the ground.

Jack cried out in pain as heat erupted into his body. He went limp and fell to the stone clearing. He dropped his staff and it met the ground with a _clang_.

Flicker grinned and staggered forward before appearing in front of the boy.

Jack was on his hands and knees, weakly trying to push himself up as waves of fire danced through each of his limbs.

"Finally…now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Flicker chimed.

Jack was gasping while clawing weakly at his chest and throat. He looked up at Flicker with hazy eyes as the man leaned over him.

A golden whip suddenly wrapped around Flicker's neck just before his hand met Jack's face.

Flicker choked and his yellow eyes caught sight of the Sandman hovering above him in the air. Sandy glared threateningly at the flame spirit before pulling hard on his whip, causing Flicker to fly backwards into the sky and slam hard onto the stone ground by the other side of the clearing.

Sandy quickly dropped in front of Jack and examined him with concern. The boy's body was shuddering and he was letting out short, hushed cries of pain while holding his chest.

Sandy reached out and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder to try and comfort him, but he pulled away as soon as his fingers met the boy's skin. _Jack's body was boiling hot, no wonder he was in pain!_

"Sandy!"

The dream spirit turned when he heard Bunny call his name. The Pooka was still pinned to the ground by three statues. He was trying desperately to escape as he clawed at the ground in front of him and tried to kick himself out of the soldier's grasp.

"Damn it, get off!" Bunny yelled in frustration.

He had witnessed Jack swallow the flower and heard the boy's faint cries of pain with his sharp hearing. He wanted to be back at Jack's side. He needed to help him!

He couldn't bear to see Jack with any more injuries.

Sandy glanced upwards to see the sleigh still circling above the clearing.

He looked back down and his eyes narrowed when he saw a few of the statue soldiers divert their attention from Bunny and walk closer to Jack.

Sandy stood in front of Jack protectively, whips at the ready.

"Don't let them get to Jack!" he heard Bunny call out to him from behind the soldiers.

The giant stone statues were slow, but they were huge and strong. Each time Sandy struck them with a whip, it barely fazed them. They simply teetered back slightly but continued closer with heavy footsteps.

Sandy inched closer to Jack, looking around carefully as the enemies circled them.

"Out of the way!"

Sandy heard North call from above him and ducked out of instinct as the sleigh came dangerously close to the ground and effectively smashed into three of the soldiers, sending them flying back into the forest.

The reindeer flew back upwards and North glanced downwards to observe the damage to the sleigh.

'_Ah!_ _That's going to leave a dent.' _The wonder spirit grimaced.

North shifted the reigns while still keeping a hold on Jamie with his other arm. The poor teen was sleeping soundly now after Sandy had blown some dream sand into his eyes.

Sandy smiled up at North but then he heard Bunny scream Jack's name.

He turned around to see an angry Flicker holding Jack's limp body up by the front of the boy's sweater.

Sandy's eyes widened and he instantly summoned more dream sand in defense.

_How had Flicker snuck up on him so easily?_

Sandy's gaze shifted rapidly from Flicker and back to Jack, not sure of what move to make without hurting his friend any more than he was.

Jack gasped in pain and weakly clawed at Flicker's burning hand. The flame spirit leaned over and spoke into the boy's ear.

"It's getting a bit crowded, lets move to some place more private." He whispered, before licking a trail up Jack's cheek.

'_Oh yes, Jack is deliciously warm now.' _He thought with a smile.

Sandy glared at Flicker and shot a whip towards the man's head in an attempt to snap off the man's tongue.

However Flicker's body disappeared with a cloud of smoke and Sandy looked around in surprise. Flicker could teleport now?

His golden eyes searched his surroundings frantically, while his dream sand shaped into a giant fan and attempted to blow the smoke away.

_He had to find Jack before-_

He spotted Flicker opening up an orange, glowing portal at the other side of the clearing and Sandy quickly shot dream sand in that direction, pleading that it would slow the man down.

The sand never made it through though, as more stone soldiers staggered with loud thumps in between Sandy and Flicker. His sand dispersed when it hit the statue's hard body.

Bunny struggled helplessly as he watched Flicker drag Jack's body with him into the portal.

"Jack!" He cried out, reaching a hand towards the boy's limp body.

'_No. I won't let Flicker take him. I won't fail Jack a second time!'_

Bunny let rage fuel him as he twisted in the stone soldier's grasp so that his back was against the ground. Then he brought his large feet above him and kicked upwards _hard_ with all of his strength.

The soldier didn't move up very far but it was far enough for Bunny to slip out and race towards the portal just as he saw Jack's feet disappear inside of it.

He yelled out in rage and shot forward, making it into the portal right before it closed off.

Sandy stared with wide eyes when he saw the portal disappear, taking both Jack and Bunny with it.

He gritted his teeth and was about to take out his anger on the statues around him but North beat him to it as the sleigh rammed into a big line of soldiers as it descended and skidded to a stop near the clearing's edge.

Sandy hovered into the sleigh to check on Jamie and found the boy still asleep. Amazingly there was not a single scratch on the teen's body.

"Awww!" North drooped his arms dramatically when he saw that the portal was gone.

Once again, they were both too slow as Jack and Bunny threw themselves into another dangerous situation.

Sandy looked down sadly, feeling like he let his friends down. His eyes widened in surprise though, when he noticed something glimmering on a tree branch near by.

Bunny's iceling bird was perched on a twig at the edge of the forest. It was staring at them with clear eyes.

When Sandy gestured towards it, the little creature flew over and fluttered into the dream spirit's hands.

"Ah, ha!" North stated as he leaned down and observed the iceling.

"We won't be late this time!" He bellowed.


	9. Chapter 9

**There is a bit of naughtiness in this chapter 0_0**

**And its length will promise **_**many**_** grammatical errors…forgive me!**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

The first thing Jack was aware of when he gained consciousness was the unbelievable pain dancing throughout his entire body.

It felt like he was literally _on fire_. But when he forced his eyes open, there were no red flames in his vision, just a blur of black and gray.

That's when his other senses began to register. He could hear heavy breathing, but otherwise the place, _wherever he was_, was completely silent.

There was something hard under him and he weakly grazed a hand over it.

It felt smooth like granite, but the coolness of the surface did nothing to help the burning waves of agony in his body.

Jack moved his fingers and focused very hard on the feeling.

Despite the pain he could feel every tiny crevice and crack going through the stone's surface. He shuddered hard and drew his fingers away.

His body felt _very_ sensitive to touch all of the sudden.

"Jack."

Jack heard Bunny's gently voice call his name and his heart swelled with relief.

"B-Bunny?" Jack could hear how hoarse and faint his own voice sounded.

He squinted and his eyes searched the area around him, trying to make sense of his blurry surroundings.

"Yeah, I'm right here, mate." The Pooka was whispering in a desolate tone.

Jack reached a shaky hand out in front of him, trying to feel the soft gray fur of his best friend's body.

Then everything finally came into focus.

They were in some sort of circular, stone cavern.

The walls were decorated with strange orange etchings of the sun and symbols from a foreign language. The rocky surroundings created a dome around them, with a gapping hole at the top, allowing sunlight to brighten up the surroundings.

There were stone soldiers lined up along the walls in different positions. Luckily, however, none of them were alive or glowing and remained glued to the wall as statues; nothing more.

Then Jack's eyes spotted Bunny.

The Pokka was standing a few feet away. His body appeared hunched over with his back pressed firmly against the stone behind him.

Bunny's arms were pinned into the wall by two giant statues standing at each side of him.

What shocked Jack the most though, was the Pooka's face.

Bunny was staring down at Jack _so_ sadly…like he was about to cry.

The only other time Jack had seen such a look on the rabbit's face was during the battle with Pitch, when Easter had been destroyed and the children had stopped believing in him.

"B-bunny?" Jack's voice was barely audible.

Bunny felt like his heart was being ripped to pieces as he stared at the boy in front of him. Jack's boy was lying limp on some sort of smooth platform table in the center of the cavern. The boy was taking in air with deep gasps while his body trembled uncontrollably.

His blue eyes looked faded and his normal moonlight skin was tinted pink. The boy was looking around and squinting like he was having a hard time seeing as drops of sweat trickled down his forehead.

Jack Frost was not supposed to sweat. _He couldn't_. He was a winter spirit.

The poor boy looked horrible and the intense pain was evident in his expression.

But Bunny was deprived of the ability to scoop the spirit into his arms and shower him with love and comfort. He was still pinned to the wall by these_ bastard_ statues.

"Jack…listen to me, you have to get out of here." Bunny's tone was still soft but he spoke with urgency and Jack's mind was having a hard time keeping up.

"Huh…what about you?" Jack tried to sit up but his body was stuck to the platform beneath him.

"_I_ don't matter. You're the one Flicker wants. You have to leave, or hide…or _something_." Bunny's whispers became louder.

He was staring pleadingly at Jack. Why wasn't the boy moving?

"But…I-I'm stuck." Jack breathed.

Then, when he strained his neck so that he could actually look down at himself, his brow furrowed in confusion.

There was actually nothing holding Jack down to the platform. No straps, no iron bars…his body was untouched.

'_Why can't I move?' _Jack thought.

He took a deep breath then pushed back against the platform with his arms while trying to lift his chest into a sitting position.

He cried out when a burning pain shot up his spine and he fell back down with a thud. The back of his head hit the stone roughly and he groaned.

Bunny had watched the action and now his eyes were wide with worry.

"Jack, you really can't move?"

The boy's labored breathing was enough of an answer.

Jack lazily turned his head on its side to stare at Bunny. Green eyes looked back into hazy blue orbs and both of their faces held the same expression.

It was a mix of panic and horror.

Bunny hated himself for getting captured so easily.

He had ran head first into the portal like a maniac but just as he made it through to the other side, something hard had slammed into the back of his head, knocking him out.

When he woke up, he was being held captive to the wall by two of the lifeless statues that surrounded the cavern.

He had tried to handle the situation calmly at first but when he noticed Jack's motionless body in front of him, the Pooka started kicking away from the wall and flailing around for hours in an attempt to slip out of the statue's grasp and reach Jack. Eventually he wore himself out.

He was usually good at slipping out of situations like this, but those stone hands were gripping his arms down to the bone.

And an even worse realization was that the ground seemed to be possessed by some weird magic, because no matter how many times the Pooka stomped his feet, a tunnel would never open up for him.

All he could do was hang from the wall in defeat as he waited for Jack to wake up.

Jack closed his eyes and lay limp against the stone. His energy was completely drained and the pain was making him tired.

He let out a single faint laugh as an odd thought occurred in his head.

In spite of all this pain, and the fact that he was trapped and helpless. Jack felt strangely at ease knowing that Bunny was at his side, even if the Pooka was stuck to the wall and couldn't help him.

But having his best friend near him made all the difference.

"I'm glad you're here, Bunny." Jack whispered.

Bunny looked down at his friend and forced a sad smile.

Suddenly a deep chuckle echoed from above them and Bunny's head shot up in surprise, ears standing tall. Jack's breath hitched once he heard the familiar voice.

Flicker beamed down at his prisoners from the hole at the top of the dome before dropping down into the center of the cavern.

Bunny glared hard at the flaming man. His ears shot back and his head was lowered like a threatened beast.

Flicker was twirling Jack's staff around in his right hand as he observed the Pooka.

He placed the bottom of the staff onto the stone floor and leaned against it all while examining Bunny's face with an amused but curious expression.

Then he straightened himself and spoke.

"Sorry the place is so messy, I haven't had a chance to clean up." The man chuckled and looked around. Though there was nothing on the floor but a large carving of the sun.

Bunny growled lowly in the back of his throat.

Flicker smirked and then turned his attention to Jack. The boy had his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to block out the heat that was slowly eating him alive.

Flicker leaned back against the staff and sighed dreamily as he peered down at Jack.

His little winter spirit was _stunning_! The boy's body was all laid out for him, begging to be touched and caressed by warm hands.

Jack's skin had also turned a lovely shade of pink, and those pretty lips were already moist with sweat as the spirit of winter gasped for each breath.

_Beautiful!_

Flicker licked his lips and stepped closer to the platform.

Bunny's eyes widened and his blood when cold when he realized that there was _nothing_ separating Jack's weak and helpless body from Flicker as the man stepped closer to him.

"Graah!" Bunny growled and started screaming threats at Flicker all while struggling wildly against the statue's grip. He brought his feet up and kicked and scratched at the stone statues, hoping that they would come alive and react so that he could distract them and slip away.

Flicker chuckled as he watched the Easter Bunny struggling against his lifeless warriors. The spirit of hope looked very much like a trapped rabbit, fighting to escape a predator in the wild.

Flicker leaned over and whispered into Jack's ear.

"I'm back, darling." He purred.

Jack groaned out in a mix of pain and horror. He turned his face away from the flaming man.

"Hey Flicker." Bunny stated loudly.

Flicker straightened, and looked up at Bunny with a curious smile.

Then the Pooka spit across the room, effectively shooting saliva into the flame spirit's eye.

Flicker grimaced and his skin made a sizzling sound as the liquid dripped down onto his cheek.

Yellow eyes glared back at the captured Pooka.

Bunny felt relief from stealing the attention away from Jack, and part of him was thrilled that he had wiped the happy smirk off the fire demon's face.

Flicker turned away from Jack and walked a few feet in front of the Pooka while rubbing the offensive liquid out of his eye. Bunny paused from his struggling to stare back into the man's angry gaze.

"Nice aim." Flicker said just before he grabbed the end of Jack's staff and struck the Pooka _hard_ across the face.

Bunny's head slammed back into the wall behind him, leaving him dazed for a moment. There was now a sharp throbbing pain on the side of his skull but he ignored it. _Jack was going through so much worse right now._

Flicker smiled with satisfaction, then returned to Jack's side.

He reached out and slipped a flaming hand under Jack's sweater and he gently stroked the boy's chest and stomach.

Jack's eyes flew open and he cried out in pain as the flaming hand added to the intense burning sensation running through his body.

"Stop it!" Bunny yelled while vainly pulling against his restraints.

Flicker licked his lips again and the flames on his hand faded.

He met Bunny's green eyes with his own as he swirled a warm finger around on Jack's chest.

"_You_ wish you could touch him like this." The man stated.

Bunny's brow furrowed and he shot a nervous glance towards Jack's face, but the boy didn't seem like he was paying attention to Flicker's words.

"I don't." Bunny replied.

Flicker threw his head back and laughed loudly before jumping forward. He stood in front of the Pooka again, close enough to stare into his eyes but far away enough to avoid the rabbit's long feet.

"You do. You _desire_ him. You want to run your furry paws all over his body and do unspeakable things-"

"Shut up!" Bunny yelled.

Flicker laughed again.

"There is no point in denying it. I can see everyone's lusts and desires, no matter how hard they try and hide them…no matter how much they are _ashamed_." Flicker chuckled as the rabbit stared back at him with a look of surprise and hatred.

"But, here's a little advice Mr. Easter…"

Flicker twirled Jack's staff before raising the top of it to circle around Bunny's neck to pull his head forward slightly.

"Forget about those stupid feelings of yours, because they will never be returned." Flicker whispered.

That struck a chord within Bunny and he glared at the man before him.

"My chances are better than yours." Bunny growled.

Flicker frowned but then threw his head back into a fit of laughter. He hunched over and grabbed his heaving sides with each bellow.

"Really? Ha! You think you have a better chance at being with Jack than _I_ do?"

The demon wiped the sizzling tears of laughter from his eyes and then leaned over to stare into the Pooka's face.

"Look at you. You're an animal!" Flicker hollered.

Bunny's ears fell flat against the back of his head and his eyes widened in shock.

As much as he hated to admit it, that statement hurt…a lot. Mostly because Bunny's main fear _was_ that Jack would turn him down because of his race.

Flicker released Bunny's head from the staff and leaned against it instead.

"You have long ears and _whiskers_. Your body is covered in _fur_. You're a rabbit!"

Flicker looked at the Pooka and shook his head slowly, still wielding a smile. His face had a look of both amusement and pity.

"And you think Jack will look at you like you're _attractive_?"

Flicker began laughing again, his loud hollers echoing off the walls around them.

Bunny's brow furrowed and green eyes glanced towards Jack. The winter spirit had his eyes shut again as he tossed his head around, trying to fend off the sound of yelling that was mixing together and bouncing off of his aching skull.

He couldn't make sense of the loud statements, but he wished they would stop.

Flicker sighed deeply then tossed Jack's staff to the ground and watched it clatter towards the edge of the cave.

"I suppose you aren't the only one, rabbit." Flicker stated while scratching the back of his head and hopping up to sit next to Jack on the platform.

"That little boy I snatched up was lusting for Jack as well…what was his name…Jared…Jake...?"

Bunny ignored the man's rambling for a second to focus on the fact that Flicker's body was only a few inches away from Jack's.

He gritted his teeth_. 'I can't let Flicker get the best of me…I need to find a way to help Jack…but how?…I can't even-'_

"However!" Flicker stated very loudly in order to get the rabbit's attention.

Bunny's head snapped up with a glare.

"People like you- …or rather, _animals_ like you need to learn something." Flicker crossed his legs, causing them to bump into Jack while the boy shook weakly against the stone surface.

Bunny's eyes flicked quickly from Jack's body and back to Flicker's yellow gaze. His heart was beating wildly against his chest as the demon moved even closer to the helpless winter spirit.

"Jack belongs to me." Flicker stated while pointing a thumb back at himself.

"And to prove it, I'm going to claim him right now, and you're going to watch."

Bunny's eyes went wide.

* * *

"Hyah!" North yelled out as he snapped the reins, causing his deer to fly faster.

The spirit of wonder was holding the frozen bird in his other hand and looking back at the little creature for guidance every time they passed over another mountain.

If they veered off course, the bird would flutter its wings frantically until North switched direction. But right now they seemed to be headed in the right place as they flew higher above the trial of mountains.

Sandy sat at the back of the sleigh. He was gently stroking Jamie's hair while the teen slept against the seat with his head in Sandy's lap.

A little golden Jack Frost made of sand was swirling above the boy's head. Sandy knew it was Jamie's favorite thing to dream about.

But as Sandy watched the little golden spirit fly around, he couldn't help but worry for his friend.

Jack was strong, but the boy had a very gentle soul. Sandy has witnessed the spirit's empathy on more than one occasion.

It wasn't fair that Jack had to suffer like this and be injured and harassed by demons that fell from the sun.

Jack was such a kind person…how could someone even think about hurting him after witnessing the boy's soft smile, or the way he played with children in the snow?

Just what kind of monster _was_ this Flicker guy?

Sandy suddenly jumped in surprise when he saw something green shoot past the sleigh.

North noticed it as well, and he pulled back on the reins to slow them down.

"Whoa!" he called out to his deer as they bucked in protest.

Sandy turned his head and looked back as Tooth quickly zipped forward to catch up with them before gently fluttering down into the sleigh.

"Here you guys are! I went back to the Warren and everyone was- I-is that Jamie?!"

Tooth flew forward in shock and peered down at the sleeping face in Sandy's lap.

"What's he doing here?" She asked while setting a gently hand on the teen's arm.

"Tooth, glad you could make it!" North bellowed.

"We need favor!"

Tooth looked around them in confusion. "What's going on? Where's Jack and Bunny?" Her feathers ruffled with concern.

"No time for explanation!" North yelled back as he pulled up hard on the reins to avoid the peak of a mountain.

"Take the boy home and guard him like you guard teeth!"

"Wait a second, you haven't told me what's going on!" Tooth looked pleadingly down at Sandy, who was trying to explain everything with rapid images appearing over his head.

"Take the boy, Tooth!"

The fairy glared back at North before carefully lifting Jamie's sleeping form into her arms. Sandy helped lift the boy up until he was cradled comfortably against Tooth.

'_Geez, he was getting heavy!'_

"Alright, but you have to promise me that Jack and Bunny will be safe." She stated.

North smiled back and gave her a thumbs-up.

"It's a deal!"

* * *

"Hah…S-stop."

Burning fingers trailed along Jack's neck and the winter sprite turned his head away, weakly trying to escape the awful touches.

His skin was _so_ sensitive, even the slightest graze of a finger made his boy's shudder and send uncomfortable jolts up his spine, which in turn caused the burning sensation from within his body to flare up painfully.

Jack's blue sweater was crumpled up on the ground beneath them. He had been relieved when it's absence allowed some of the build up heat to escape, but that relief soon faded when Flicker began touching his naked chest.

The fire demon was kneeling above Jack, running his hot hands over every surface of the boy's skin.

He loved the way Jack's expression contorted into a look of agony, and the way the boy weakly reacted to every singe touch and caress.

'_Oh, it was simply addicting.'_

Flicker stroked the boy's sides and leaned over to rub his face lovingly against the boy's tummy, electing a hushed scream from the one beneath him.

Flicker darted his yellow eyes to the wall next to him and stared at Bunny as he dragged his tongue along Jack's chest.

"Enjoying the show, rabbit?" He asked gruffly.

Green orbs, bright with rage and hatred stared back at him.

Bunny was gagged now. A thick piece of cloth had been shoved into his mouth and tied around his head so that Flicker could torture Jack in _peace_.

However, that didn't stop Bunny from letting out constant muffled growls to try and steal back Flicker's attention, all while struggling against his restrains with every ounce of strength left in him.

Flicker chuckled and began a trail of kisses from the boy's navel up to his neck.

Jack moaned in pain as the hot lips burned into his skin like hot coal on ice. He weakly forced his leg up to try and kick Flicker away, but all he managed was to simply press his foot into the demon's hot stomach.

The fire spirit grinned and grabbed onto Jack's ankle before kissing him on the top of his foot. Then he forced the boy's legs apart and settled himself in between them.

Jack's eyes widened as the demon began fiddling with his belt.

'_Please no! Don't do this! Not in front of Bunny!'_

He would never be able to look his best friend in the face ever again.

Jack gritted his teeth and turned his head away from both Bunny and Flicker.

The pain, the embarrassment…it was all too much.

Flicker brought a hand down and stroked Jack between the legs through his pants.

The winter spirit cried out in agony as his most sensitive area was engulfed in heat, shooting a bolt of sharp pain up his spine.

"S-stop!" Jack pleaded.

Flicker continued to caress Jack between the legs but soon frowned. The boy's body wasn't reacting in the way he wanted it to.

"Doesn't this feel good, Jack?" Flicker cooed in the boy's ear.

Jack groaned in pain and shook his head back and forth wildly.

"Hmm." Flicker hummed. "Ah, well."

He leaned down and nuzzled the boy's neck.

"You'll feel better once you eat the second flower." He whispered.

Bunny's eyes widened at the demon's words.

'_Second flower…did that one have the same effect as the first?'_

Bunny didn't know if he could take the sight of Jack suffering even more than he was now.

_'I have to stop that second flower.'_ the Pooka decided.

Flicker brought a hand up and ran it through Jack's hair before pulling the boy's face up so he could gaze into squinting blue orbs.

"But we have to wait for this flower to wear off first." He chimed.

He slipped a few fingers under Jack's pants and started tugging them down.

'_No!' _Bunny thought, eyes wide with panic.

He couldn't let this happen, not while he is here and can do something to stop it.

He growled loudly through the cloth and brought his large feet up behind him to push against the wall with all his might. A muffled cry of effort escaped him as he tugged against the stone hands, trying desperately to break away from them.

_Thud._

Bunny's ears perked up at the noise and he looked around. The sound had vibrated throughout the entire cavern.

Flicker jolted in surprise at the noise, then looked up and out of the hole in the ceiling.

He frowned and leaped off of Jack to stand right beneath it.

Jack sighed in relief as the flaming man scratched the back of his head while gazing into the sky above them.

"Huh…must have been-"

Flicker was cut off as a battle cry echoed through the cavern and Bunny shrunk back against the wall in surprise.

Then North's large body appeared and descended through the hole with both of his swords pointed downwards.

Flicker was completely off guard and let out a surprised yell as the spirit of wonder's giant body landed on top of him, his large boots crushing the demon's stomach and pinning him to the ground.

A sword sliced down into the stone next to Flicker's head, nearly missing his face.

Shocked yellow orbs stared up in to fierce and angry blue ones.

"Sandy!" North called out while still freezing Flicker to the ground with his gaze.

Sandy appeared a second later. He lightly hovered through the hole and down into the cavern before summoning a huge wall of golden sand to separate Flicker and North from Jack and Bunny.

"Mmph!" Bunny's muffled to Sandy. His green eyes were lit up with relief and joy.

He had never been so happy to see North in his entire life.

Sandy's smiled to him momentarily before hovering over to Jack and looking the boy over with wary eyes.

Jack gazed back into Sandy's golden face and smiled weakly before letting his head fall back against the stone with his eyes closed, exhausted from all the pain and heat.

Sandy summoned a few golden fans that instantly began blowing cool air onto Jack's body in an attempt to cool him off. Then Sandy hovered over to Bunny and examined the statues that were holding him.

Bunny could hear angry snarls from Flicker and cries of fury from North as the two battled it out from behind the golden wall. The constant echo of a metal sword clanging against stone made the Pooka's heart beat faster.

Sandy's brow furrowed and he put a small hand to his chin before lifting up a golden whip and striking it carefully against the stone consuming Bunny's right arm.

The sand simply dispersed as it met the stone and the dream spirit frowned while scratching the back of his head in thought.

Bunny felt some sand untie the cloth from around his head and he spit it out and took a few deep breaths.

"Sandy! Forget about me, get Jack out of here before-"

Suddenly the statues surrounding the cavern began glowing bright red and Sandy spun around, observing them with wide eyes.

As the statues next to Bunny shifted, their hands loosened enough from the Pooka to slip out.

Bunny immediately darted past Sandy and hopped onto the platform where Jack lay motionless, standing over the boy's body protectively while he reached for his boomerangs.

The statues slowly stepped towards the three guardians with heavy footsteps that echoed through the cavern.

Sandy hovered close to Bunny and gave the Pooka a worried glance as the warriors drew even closer.

They stood in the center, trapped as the enemy surrounded them.

One of the large stone figures reached a hand out towards Jack and Bunny leaned over the boy and growled threateningly at the bulking mass of stone.

Sandy summoned his whips and took a defense stance on the edge of the platform while scanning the enemies with angry eyes.

Then Bunny heard a crash that sounded like a snow globe from somewhere in the cavern and Sandy's golden wall exploded, sending dream sand flying everywhere as three Yetis ran through and began throwing large buckets of water at everything in their path.

Bunny flinched as his fur was drenched, then he noticed that the statues all halted when they were splashed and the glowing red light at their centers faded.

Sandy observed them curiously and created a giant hand out of dream sand. The hand then poked one of the warriors with a golden finger and the statue collapsed onto the ground.

Bunny grinned when he watched all of the other warriors soon repeat the action and they all crumbled to the ground, causing the stone to vibrate harshly beneath the guardian's feet.

The Yeti's hobbled over the broken soldiers and waved their empty buckets around proudly, just as Sandy floated over to join North on the other side of his dispersing sand wall.

Flicker had his back to the stone wall of the cave. He was hunched over and the flames on his shoulders were sputtering weakly. His gaze quickly shifted back and forth between every guardian in the crevice and he gritted his teeth into an angry snarl.

"Give it up!" North commanded with a smug grin as he held one of his swords just a few inches from the sun demon's nose.

"You are no match for _us_!"

Sandy nodded and glared at Flicker threateningly as arrows made of sand appeared from behind him, ready to shoot into the enemy's body.

The three Yetis, including Phil, walked slowly forward towards Flicker while punching their large fists into their hands.

Flicker's gaze dashed around them again until it landed on the motionless body of Jack on the other side of the cave.

Bunny stood over the winter sprite protectively, green eyes glaring back into yellow ones with determination, daring the demon to make a move.

Flicker blew smoke out of his nose in a frustrated snort before his body suddenly blew up into a cloud of smoke, before racing past North and the others and escaping out of the hole in the ceiling.

North sliced at the passing smoke in an attempt to stop him, but the cloudy air flew around his weapon with ease.

"I'll be seeing you again soon, Jack!" Flicker's voice called out angrily before the demon's presence seemed to disappear entirely from the crevice.

North glared upwards at where the man disappeared and he slowly lowered his swords. The Yetis all looked around in confusion while Sandy quickly hovered back over to check on Jack.

Bunny sighed in relief but was soon filled with a new panic as his foot rubbed against Jack's bare side and the Pooka felt the searing heat that was emitting from the boy's skin.

He hopped down from the platform and gently wrapped his arms around Jack's shoulders, propping him up slightly.

"Jack… hey…can you hear me?" Bunny cooed softly.

The boy's eyes fluttered a bit but he groaned in pain and his head fell back against the Pooka's arm weakly.

Jack's body was still shaking and his breath was coming in sharp gasps.

"It's alright mate, we're gonna get you fixed up. Flicker is long gone, he won't lay a hand on you ever again." Bunny whispered.

Bunny was going to _make sure_ that Flicker never laid a hand on Jack ever again.

Sandy floated up next to them holding both Jack's sweater and his staff in his small hands. His looked at Jack and then back to Bunny, golden eyes filled with panic and concern.

"Bunny, are you and Jack alright?" North asked as he stepped over broken statues to get to his friends.

"_I'm_ fine. North, we need to get Jack out of here. We need to get him cooled down _right now_!" Bunny spoke urgently.

North took note of the spiraling twist of emotions that arose in the Pooka's eyes.

'_What had happened while they were trapped here with Flicker?'_ He wondered.

He examined Jack's withering body carefully. The boy was still drooping limply in Bunny's arms. Jack's eyes squeezed shut tightly in pain and he turned his head to the side, burying his face in Bunny's chest fur.

"Aye." North quickly replied with a nod.

He gestured to the Yetis and Phil walked up and handed North a snow globe.

"North Pole!" He spoke into the globe before chucking it at the ground.

A colorful twister of colors appeared and swirled around the newly made portal.

Bunny pulled Jack's body close to his own and slid his other arm beneath Jack's legs to lift him up, bridal style.

"Don't worry mate, I've got ya." Bunny whispered.

He cradled Jack in his arms as they journeyed back to North's home.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10.**

* * *

North stared out the window as he stroked his beard in thought.

The heavy snow outside set his mind at ease. There was no sign of red flames or anything that would announce Flicker's presence, just the constant fluttering of snowflakes across the winter plain of the North Pole.

He sighed and turned back towards his workshop.

For once, the building was orderly. Rather than creating and test-driving toy's, the Yetis were busy strengthening the workshop's defenses and preparing for an emergency in case Flicker tried to break in and take Jack.

Even the elves were acting on their best behavior, as they have been ever since they witnessed just how injured Jack was.

Phil walked up towards North and cleared his throat to announce his presence. North smiled and walked over to pat his friend on the shoulder.

"Are all the entrances secure?" North asked.

"Harbla." The yeti replied before sticking his thumbs up reassuringly.

"Good then." North sighed. "We can relax for now."

He ventured upwards towards the globe floor, all while looking around to make sure everything was under control. However, when he reached the main room he paused and peeked his head past the corner curiously.

A large tin tub had been placed in the center of the room with thick hills of ice and snow arching out of it.

Jack's body was almost unnoticeable inside of it, buried beneath the snow with the back of his head resting against the tub's edge. Without his bright blue eyes showing and the sweater he constantly wore, the boy blended in perfectly. It was hard to make out the thin line that separated the snow from his white locks of hair.

Bunny was seated on the floor at the other side of the tub. He had his arms resting on the edge as he gazed into Jack's unconscious face intently. The same hurricane of spiraling emotions was still alive in the Pooka's green eyes, making North wonder what the spirit of hope could possibly be thinking about.

He took note of Sandy's presence in the room as well. The little golden man was sitting at the other end of the room in front of the fireplace in an attempt to give Bunny a moment of privacy. However, North could see the dream giver's face peer back at Jack's tub ever so often, eyes filled with concern.

Bunny leaned his head onto his arms as he stared into Jack's peaceful face.

There had already been a snow filled tub made ready for them by the yetis as soon as they had passed through the portal with Jack's unconscious form.

Bunny hadn't even hesitated when he practically ripped the boy's pants off and dumped him into the ice-filled tub so that Jack's skin would cool off as quickly as possible.

As he thought about it _now_ though, Bunny couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Jack didn't wear any underwear. He had been too panicked to actually _look_ at Jack's naked body when he was stripping him, but the fact that Jack's pants were the only article of clothing he had to take off caused the Pooka's cheeks to heat up considerably.

Bunny's gaze shifted to where Jack's sweater and pants were folded neatly next to his staff by the tub, before looking back up at Jack's face.

The snow was up to the boy's shoulders and he looked simply angelic. His skin was back to its moonlight shade and his breathing was deep and slow. There were also no signs of pain in his expression as he slept peacefully in his little ice bath.

Images of Flicker's hands running all over the boy's body was still fresh in his mind, and he shook his head to try and ignore it.

'_Flicker won't lay a hand on Jack every again…I'll make sure of it.'_

He wanted nothing more that to kick that fire demon's face in, and maybe throw him in a lake…see how _he_ likes being out of his element.

An image of Flicker's body crumbling away into ashes at the bottom of the sea made the Pooka grin with satisfaction.

"Hn…"

Bunny looked up at the gentle sound and watched as Jack turned his head in his sleep. He snuggled into the ice beneath him and sighed. Bunny lifted his arms away from the tub as it froze over and vines of frost danced along it's surface.

He laughed inwardly as he realized Jack was freezing things in his sleep.

His green eyes glided along the boy's collarbone and trailed up an arched neck before settling on Jack's fragile face.

'_Why are ya so beautiful, mate?' _

Jack twitched in his sleep before mumbling something and turning his head back to its original position.

Bunny laughed lightly.

"Hey mate, are ya wakin' up?" Bunny whispered.

Jack's eyes fluttered and half lidded blue orbs stared back into green. He turned his head around lazily, and took in his surroundings with a sleepy face.

Then something clicked in the boy's head and his eyes went wide. He sat up straight in the tub of ice and a smile appeared on his face when he saw his friend right in front of him.

"Bunny!" He pushed through the ice surrounding him and wrapped his cold arms around the Pooka's neck in a death grip.

Bunny went stiff in surprise for a moment, but then he returned the boy's hug with a smile. His heart continued to beat rapidly when Jack pulled away and looked around the room.

"We're back at the North Pole?" Jack asked.

He spotted Sandy floating up towards him from the other end of the room and he grinned hugely.

"Sandy!" He greeted as the dream spirit descended in front of the tub.

Sandy smiled up at the boy and a flame made of sand with a question mark appeared above his head.

"Am I…burning...?" Jack asked but then he trailed off and set a hand on his chest.

Then he began scooping up handfuls of snow and shoving them down his own throat in an attempt to cool of the remains of heat that still lingered within his body.

Bunny chuckled as he watched the boy.

"Easy mate, you're gonna choke yourself."

Jack ignored him and continued swallowing snow, before he scooped some away from his shoulders and got an eyeful of his own bare chest.

"Where's my…" His eyes searched the room for his sweater and found it folded up neatly next to the tub he was in…along with his pants.

Jack's eyes went wide and his cheeks blushed a deep violet before he brought his arms up to cover his chest.

"A-am I naked?!" He asked while gazing down at himself.

Bunny began laughing and Sandy joined in with silent chuckles of his own.

"Sorry mate, we had to get ya cooled down, pronto."

Jack huffed and leaned over the side of the tub to try and reach his pants, all while giving Bunny a good view of everything above his hips.

The boy's hand came up short and he grumbled in irritation.

"Wind! Get me my pants!"

On command, his pants suddenly flew into the air and hovered in front of him. Before he could grab them though, a bird made of dream sand snatched them in its beak and flew off with them.

"S-sandy! Give them back!" Jack yelled at the little man as he chuckled silently from the side of the tub while guiding the bird to fly about the room.

Bunny was on the ground in a fit of laughter by this point, but Jack looked very distressed as he watched his only pair of pants being dragged across the air. He wasn't about the fly up and grab them though, not while Bunny and Sandy were watching.

He spotted his little ice bird perched on the mantle of the fireplace and grinned. He flicked his wrist and the bird was instantly in the air. It flew by the bird of sand and grabbed hold of one of the ends of his pants, trying to tug it away from the streams of sand.

Sandy's face lit up, excited by the challenge, and he changed his sand into a shark before the creature chomped down on the brown garment and darted away with them. Jack's ice bird flew close behind it.

"What's all the commotion?" North bellowed as he entered the room.

Both of the creatures seemed startled by the large man's entrance and they dropped the brown pants they were fighting for, causing the garment to fall down through the air and flop onto North's head.

Both Sandy and Bunny were on the floor now, clutching their sides in a fit of laughter while Jack shrunk back in the ice tub, completely embarrassed.

North pulled the pants off of his head and examined them, before letting out a boisterous laugh of his own.

"I'm glad to see you doing well, Jack. How are you feeling?"

He was glad to see that his two friends were back to their old selves, after just having gone through such a traumatic experience.

Jack gave a sheepish smile and reached out towards his pants a bit.

"I'm fine North, could I have my-"

"Excellent! We were all getting worried…not knowing the real effects of that flower."

Jack recoiled and his face fell as he remembered what had happen while he and Bunny were trapped in Flicker's crevice.

He hadn't been in a very accurate state of mind at the time, but he could still remember hearing North's fight with Flicker, and the words the fire demon had called out before he disappeared.

Bunny stopped laughing and he straightened himself when he saw the look on Jack's face. Sandy seemed to take notice as well, and he fluttered back to his feet.

Then Jack's eyes suddenly widened and his gaze darted around his friends.

"Where's Jamie?" He asked.

Bunny's ears perked up. He didn't know the answer to that question either, so he looked up at North for the answer as the man chuckled and walked over toward the tub to return Jack's pants.

"No need for worry. He is safe. He is back home with Tooth watching over him."

Jack nodded and he looked down at the ice surrounding him while fiddling with his fingers.

"I…I want to go see him." He said softly, while glancing towards Bunny, almost as though asking for permission.

Jack knew how badly he had worried the poor Pooka by running off to face Flicker on his own to save Jamie. He felt guilty, and didn't want to cause Bunny any more stress than he already has.

Sandy and North exchanged looks of uncertainty and Bunny leaned forwards on the tub.

"Are you sure you're feelin' up to it, mate?" The Pooka asked while his green eyes examined the winter spirit's body.

"Sure I am!" Jack replied with a smile, before attempting to shove his pants down into the snow so that he could put them on without anyone seeing.

"I feel fine! Fit as a fiddle." He sang, while flexing one of his arms.

Bunny chuckled.

"Well in that case, I'll go with you. We'll take the tunnels."

North stepped closer and was about to protest but Bunny put a hand up to silence him.

"He'll probably be looking for Jack _here_." Bunny whispered to the man while Jack was busy tugging his clothes back on.

"And if something goes wrong…" He gestured to the little ice bird that had returned to its spot on the mantle. North followed his gaze and nodded.

"We're gonna go see Jamie and Tooth, then we'll be _right_ back." Jack stated to the three of them as he jumped out of the tub and buckled his belt before tugging his sweater over his head.

North nodded with a smile but he was still eyeing Jack with caution.

"Alright, we shall await your return. Be careful Jack, and don't go flying off into the sky!" He stated.

Jack nodded with a smile. "I won't."

Then his gaze shifted towards Bunny.

"I promise."

* * *

Bunny ran on four legs through the grassy tunnel as he tried to keep up with Jack, who was flying at a quick pace, staff in hand.

He seemed eager to check up on Jamie and make sure the boy was okay.

"Am I going to fast for ya, rabbit?" Jack looked behind him playfully.

"Ha! Too _fast_? I thought you were flying slow because of your injuries, mate. I've been stayin' behind in case you collapse." Bunny replied with a smirk.

Jack scowled but then laughed as the Pooka raced past him to prove his point.

Jack flicked his staff behind him and bolted forward on a gust of wind to try and catch up with his friend.

Bunny chuckled and his heart felt fluttery.

In truth, he had pressured North to let Jack and him go because he wanted some alone time with the boy; alone time that didn't involve him being pinned to a wall while he watched his friend being molested.

He slowed down at the thought and waited for Jack to catch up with him.

"Ha ha, getting tired already?" The boy called as he swooped by the Pooka and landed on his feet.

His face fell however, when he saw the seriousness in Bunny's gaze.

"Are you really…okay?" Bunny asked, voice soft.

Jack smiled and nodded before patting himself on the chest.

"Yup. That ice fixed me up good. It must have made the flower's effects wear off."

Bunny's face darkened as memories of previous events washed over him.

"I wasn't talking about the flower…" He trailed off.

"Oh." Jack replied.

He knew what the rabbit was referring to and he brought his own arms up to warp around himself as he thought of how the fire demon had run his hands along his entire body.

"It's okay," Jack whispered.

"I'm okay. He didn't get too far…and I could barely even make out the feel of his hands compared to the burning pain everywhere."

Bunny looked into his eyes sadly and took a step closer.

"I'm sorry." He stated.

Jack looked confused and gave a half-hearted laugh. "What are _you_ sorry for? It's not _your_ fault, Bunny."

"I know." The Pooka scratched behind one of his ears while his eyes green eyes shifted to look at the ground.

"But I was _right there_, and I couldn't _do_ anything."

Jack smiled at him and leaned down so that he could peer back up into the rabbit's face.

"That's okay. I'm glad you were there, even though…"

Jack trailed off but neither of then felt the need to speak any further as a moment of silence washed over them.

They continued to stand in place stiffly, until Bunny couldn't take it anymore and he tugged on the front of Jack's sweater, causing the boy to stumble forward against his chest with a startled yelp.

Bunny's arms wrapped around him comfortingly and Jack allowed himself to snuggle into the soft fur in front of him with a deep sigh.

He knew Bunny wasn't the type of person to give affection so easily, so Jack was touched by the Pooka's sudden behavior.

_He did need a hug right now._

Bunny inhaled Jack's fresh sent as he incased the boy tightly in his arms. His nose twitched in delight at the smell and his whiskers tickled the winter sprite's neck, causing the boy to giggle.

"Ah, well…" Bunny whispered a bit nervously. He didn't know why his heart was beating so frantically all of the sudden.

He gently pulled away from the boy and set a firm hand on his shoulder.

"We should go see Jamie and Tooth."

Jack nodded, though he was a little disappointed that the embrace had ended.

"I'll race you there!" The boy stated as he leaped up and darted off into the tunnel.

Bunny chuckled as he followed suit and began running through the grass to catch up.

* * *

Tooth fluttered around the top of Jamie's roof, speaking quickly to each one of her fairies as they darted through the forest and approached her, ready for their new orders.

She sent them off and glanced downwards to see Babytooth still observing Jamie's sleeping form through the window.

There had been quite a commotion when Tooth had fluttered into the house with Jamie and had settled the boy into his bed, before tipping his bedside clock over so that it would create a noise to alert the teen's parents.

Tooth had watched from the window as every member of the boy's family came up to embrace him with relived faces. They had woken him up and started questioning him immediately, though there wasn't much Jamie could say about his disappearance. All he could do was look around the room in confusion as he mother squeezed the daylights out of him with constant hugs and kisses.

Sophie had noticed Tooth in the window and she gave the fairy an appreciative smile.

Tooth had smiled back and waved at the little blonde girl who was growing up fast. She was taller now, and had cut her hair short.

There were only two more teeth for the girl to loose and Tooth would cherish those nights when they came.

But Tooth still had a job to do, so she asked Babytooth to keep a close eyes on the sleeping boy while she directed her fairies and waited for North to send back for her.

She was busy giving information to one of her fairies about teeth in India before something near the ground caught her attention.

She zipped forward and perched on the chimney before looking down to see several of her fairies swarming around a hole that had just appeared in the ground of Jamie's yard.

Two gray ears popped out and Bunny leaped out of the hole and looked around, just as Jack appeared from underneath him.

Tooth's eyes widened and she squealed happily before racing downwards and tackled Jack with a hug, knocking the boy off his feet and onto the ground in the process.

"Jack! Oh, I'm so glad you're alright! How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Good-" Jack tried to say as Tooth squeezed the breath out of him.

Bunny chuckled and Tooth released Jack and hugged the Pooka around the shoulders until she released him and examined them curiously.

"What happened? Why was Jamie with North and where were-"

"Easy Tooth, don't loose a feather." Bunny interrupted her as the fairies feathers ruffled up with concern.

"I'll explain everything while Jack checks on Jamie."

Tooth turned to see Jack already creeping into Jamie's window and she sighed. With a nod, she followed Bunny to sit on the roof so that they could speak.

Jack smiled at Babytooth as the fairy greeted him happily and flew around his head. Then his eyes fell on Jamie.

The teen was wrapped up in his covers, sleeping soundly in his bed.

Jack flew over the bed and looked down at the boy's sleeping face fondly before settling next to him and setting his staff to lean against the bedframe.

Jack stroked the hair out of Jamie's eyes with a cold hand and watched as the boy shifted in his sleep. Brown eyes blinked open before going wide when the image of Jack's smiling face came into focus.

"Jack!" Jamie cried out, though his voice was a bit groggy.

He jumped up and wrapped his arms around the winter spirit, hugging him tightly.

Jack chuckled and squeezed the boy back.

"Y-you're okay!" Jamie muffled a sob into the spirit's sweater.

"Of course I am, I told you I would be." Jack replied softly.

Jamie pulled away and tried his best to hold back his sobs. He didn't want Jack to see him cry like a baby.

Jack brought a hand up and brush a tear out of the boy's eyes.

"W-as t-that Pitch?" Jamie asked, causing Jack's brow to furrow in confusion.

"No…you couldn't see him?" Jack asked curiously.

Jamie shook his head and rubbed the water out of his eyes. "All I could see was fire…" he murmured.

Jack nodded, somewhat relieved that Flicker was still invisible to children.

"Well, it wasn't Pitch. It was a different guy, but don't worry. North beat the crap out of him for taking you." Jack punched a hand into his fist and Jamie laughed a bit.

"He's gone for good, so you don't have to worry." Jack said.

Jamie sniffed and ran his eyes along Jack's body in confusion.

"But…you ate that…thing." Jamie whispered.

Jack smiled. "Turns out it was just a gross tasting flower, it didn't do anything."

He hated lying to Jamie, but he didn't want the boy to worry, especially since it was all over now. It wasn't fair for the teen to be involved.

"S-so you're okay?" Jamie asked, voice cracking.

Jack nodded, but Jamie's eyes continued to water and his body racked with sobs.

Jack pulled him into another hug and petted his hair as the boy tried to speak.

"I-I thought you were gonna…I t-though I was never g-gonna get to tell you…"

Jamie muffled into Jack's ear.

"Tell me what, Jamie?" He asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

He rubbed the boy's back in slow circles to try and calm him down.

"T-that I love you!"

* * *

"So that's what the flowers do…" Tooth trailed off thoughtfully.

Bunny nodded. "But I'm not sure they all do the same thing." He stated gruffly.

He certainly hoped that the other flowers didn't have the same painful effects as the first, not that he was going to allow Jack to eat any of the others.

Tooth's happy face had slowly changed into a saddened gaze as Bunny continued explaining the events from earlier.

"So what happened after you woke up with Jack in the cave?" Tooth asked, eyes searching his face.

Bunny bit his bottom lip. He wasn't sure just how much detail he should tell the fairy. She had such a soft gentle heart…he didn't know what to say.

"I…I woke up stuck to the wall by the statues…while Jack was laying on some platform thing in front of me…. he couldn't move…and Flicker came…"

He trailed off and glanced at Tooth who seemed to be hovering on his every word.

"Then Flicker talked for a while…but then Sandy and North showed up and fought him before anything happened so-"

"Bunny."

The Pooka looked at the fairy nervously. She was staring at him with hardened eyes…waiting for him to tell her all the details. He was avoiding certain parts of the story and she knew it.

Bunny sighed deeply and his ears dropped back. The look of pain that suddenly took over his face filled Tooth with concern.

"I…I just couldn't _do_ anything!" Bunny said, raising his arms in front of himself to emphasize his words.

"Flicker came and started touching Jack all over while the poor kid was still in pain from the flower…Jack was _screaming_…and I just…I couldn't-"

His voice broke off and Tooth set a gentle hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

Tooth wasn't surprised. She would have to be blind not to see the way Flicker lusted over Jack back at her palace. It still filled her with dread though, knowing that Jack had been touched so wrongly.

She was amazed at how well Jack looked when she saw him earlier, after having gone through such an awful experience.

"He didn't…I mean, did he get so far that he-"

"No." Bunny cut her off.

"North made it before he could get Jack's pants off."

Tooth blushed at how bluntly the Pooka stated it, but she could still see Bunny's green eyes glazed over with emotion.

"I'm so sorry Bunny… I wish I knew what was happening, I would have tried to do something." She said softly.

Bunny simply shook his head and sighed.

"It's okay. Jack's fine now and that's all that matters." He said.

Tooth nodded and smiled at the way the Pooka said Jack's name.

'_He really does love him.'_

* * *

Jack smiled sadly as he placed both hands on Jamie's shoulders. He looked into those brown, teary eyes and tried his best to keep his composure.

"Jamie…I love you _so_ much, but you know we can't be together; not like _that_."

Jamie squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, not wanting to believe what the spirit was saying.

"You're going to grow older. You're going to want to get married and have a family…I can't give you those things, Jamie." He could hear the sadness in his own voice and he knew that Jamie could hear it too.

"I-I don't care about those things." Jamie said quietly, forcing his voice to stay steady as he peered back into blue eyes.

"But you will." Jack said with a small smile. "I know you will."

Jamie shook his head again and tried to fend off the sobs that were creeping over him.

"Come on Jamie," Jack said as he brushed hair out of the boy's eyes.

"There is still something I want you to have from me." Jack breathed.

Jamie's sobs came to a halt and his head snapped up to look into Jack's face curiously.

The winter spirit chuckled as he hovered upwards and landed in front of Jamie on the bed, settling with his legs crossed.

He leaned over and looked into Jamie's big brown eyes.

"I've never kissed anyone before." Jack whispered.

Jamie's face lit up and he smiled hugely. He turned and scooted closer to Jack so that their faces were only inches away.

"Really…you really want me to-"

"Yup. I want you to be the first one to kiss Jack Frost!"

Jack spread his arms out and Jamie chuckled. He wiped the remaining tears out of his eyes and looked at Jack gratefully.

Jack shifted closer to Jamie and the boy looked at the blanket nervously before glancing back into Jack's eyes.

"To be honest…I've never kissed anyone either." He whispered.

"Good." Jack replied. He felt his own heart swell with joy.

"That means I get to be your first kiss too."

Jamie nodded and his breath hitched as he moved his face closer to Jack's.

He watched in fascination as the spirit's beautiful eyes fluttered closed and his expression relaxed.

Jamie moved slowly. He never wanted to forget this moment. He wanted to keep it locked away in his heart for the rest of eternity.

Jack's lips were icy cold against his own.

But he liked it…he liked being cold, because that meant that it was Jack Frost, and Jack alone. Jack was the one he was with right now, and nobody else.

_Jack Frost!_

Jamie couldn't hold back as he pushed his lips firmly against Jack's own. He brought a hand up to tangle in white locks as he shifted his head and moved his lips against cold ones.

Jack was uncertain at first, only moving his lips slightly. But he soon followed Jamie's lead and met each graze of the teen's lips with movements of his own. He felt Jamie's legs wrap around his waist and pull him closer as the teen's other arm curled around the spirit's shoulders. Jack wasn't sure what to do with his own arms, so he let them lay there as he focused on moving his lips.

He didn't know when it happened, but Jamie had somehow gotten his warm tongue into Jack's mouth. It searched around his teeth and prodded against his own cold one. He wasn't sure how to react so he grazed his tongue against Jamie's, and he felt sparks dance up his spine as he did so.

Finally, they both pulled away at the same time.

Each of them began panting for breath, and Jamie's cheeks were beat red.

Jamie laughed a bit as he examined Jack's face and the effects of his kiss.

Jack's cheeks were tinted a lovely shade of violet and his hair was out of place. He also noticed that there was a thick layer of frost branching out over his own legs and over the covers to his bed.

Jack examined the frost he had created with surprise.

"Whoops." He breathed in between pants. He suddenly realized that his own temperature had dropped dramatically and Jamie's breath was visible in the room.

He looked back at Jamie with wide eyes.

"That was one hell of a first kiss, Jamie."

Jamie laughed harder and pulled the spirit back into his arms.

"Yeah, I want you to remember it forever." He said quietly.

"I will." Jack replied.

He returned Jamie's hug and snuggled into the boy before him.

"Now you'll always be my first kiss…even when you're gone and I'm still wandering around this world." Jack whispered.

Jamie nodded and smiled against Jack's chest.

"And you'll always be mine."

* * *

Bunny's nose twitched as he turned his face away from the window.

He felt bad about spying on Jack when he was having a private moment with Jamie, but he was just too curious. He somewhat regretted watching their kiss, though.

He was proud of Jack for how he handled the situation. If it was Bunny who had to turn down a boy's love he was sure that kid would be bawling his eyes out at the end.

But Jamie looked happier than he ever has.

Jack had done well…but Bunny's chest felt heavy as he remembered seeing those two share their first kiss.

He couldn't deny the fact that they looked good together. Jamie was a _human_, after all.

If Bunny were to ever kiss Jack like that, it would just look weird; unfit and unnatural. But after seeing Jack's beautiful face in a blissful state after the kiss had ended…he sure _wanted_ to kiss him.

He wanted to tackle the boy to the ground and drown him in kisses.

The Pooka shook his head and leaped upwards to re-join Tooth, who was seated on the chimney as she waited for Jack to finish his visit with Jamie.

* * *

"Jack, why are you _blushing_?" Tooth giggled as she continued poking the boy in the cheeks.

"What? I'm not blushing! Jack Frost does not blush." He scoffed and crossed his arms.

The three of them were in the tunnels now, moving rather slowly back to the North Pole.

Jack and Bunny had chose to walk while Tooth zipped around them in a delighted frenzy.

"Yes you do! Your blood is purple! And you've been blushing ever since we left Jamie's house." She chimed playfully.

"Humph." Jack stuck his chin up and pretended to be offended, causing the fairy to laugh even louder.

"Jamie probably did somethin' embarrassing." Bunny grumbled.

Jack shot the rabbit an awkward look before shaking it off and jumping into the air.

"Hey Tooth, I'll race ya back!" He called as he flew forward through the tunnel.

Tooth laughed merrily and grinned at the challenge. Her wings fluttered a moment before she shot off through the tunnel, zipping past Jack and yelling back behind her.

"Last one there has to floss North's teeth!"

Bunny chuckled and he got on all fours to race behind the fairy with Jack right in front of him.

Jack looked down at him and stuck his tongue out as he directed the wind to move him faster.

"Ha! Is that all you got, mate?" Bunny yelled as the leaped in front of the boy dashed through the tunnel as full speed.

"Careful, I'm catching up to ya, rabbit!" Jack shouted.

Suddenly they took a turn and Bunny skidded roughly to a halt when he saw Tooth standing just before the entrance to North's workshop.

"Tooth, what-"

Bunny yelped when Jack crashed into his back, causing them both to fall onto the ground.

Jack looked up at Tooth's worried expression and hovered upwards to stand in front of her.

"What's wrong, Tooth?"

Tooth's feathers were ruffling frantically and her head shot down to look at Bunny with serious eyes.

"Bunny, take Jack to the Warren. _Hurry_!" She nearly whispered.

Bunny pushed himself to his feet and looked back at her in confusion.

"What? What's going on?" His gaze shifted towards Jack, who's face had hardened in understanding.

He knew what Tooth had seen at the top of the tunnel.

"Flicker's here." Jack said.


	11. Chapter 11

**WHY DO THESE CHAPTERS KEEP GETTING LONGER?!**

**Chapter 11**

* * *

"How did he get in?"

Bunny's voice was frantic as his gaze darted back and forth between Tooth and the entrance of his tunnel.

Dread was washing over him like a flood. He hadn't expected Flicker to come after Jack so quickly. He especially hadn't expected the fire demon to actually _break in_ to North's workshop. Weren't the entrances blocked? Weren't the yetis monitoring the place?

"I just peeked my head out for a second. I saw fire shooting around everywhere!" Tooth whispered. He feathers were puffing out and she was shifting anxiously in the air.

"Crikey…well, he doesn't know that Jack is here, we just need to-"

Bunny paused as he felt the wind blast against him. He recovered in time to see Jack's body fly under the entrance to his tunnel. The boy was crouched and ready to propel himself into the workshop.

"Stop!" Bunny shot forward and latched onto the Jack's ankle before he could make it past the floor. He yanked the boy back down and pinned him to the ground with his own body.

"What the _bloody hell_ do you think you're doing!?" Bunny screeched in a hushed tone.

Jack squirmed underneath the rabbit's larger form while poking him in the side with his staff.

"Let go! North and Sandy are up there!" Jack made no attempt to keep his voice quite so Tooth quickly flew above him and clamped her hands down on his mouth.

"Jack, hush! We can't let Flicker find you." She breathed.

Jack stopped squirming but then gazed back into Bunny's face with a forlorn look setting into his gleaming blue eyes.

Tooth gently lifted her hands away from the boy's mouth and he spoke immediately, this time his voice was just above a whisper.

"Please, Bunny." Jack begged.

The pooka's ears drooped back as the winter spirit's saddened voice tugged on his heartstrings.

"Please…I don't want anybody to get hurt because of me." His voice broke.

Tooth looked worriedly back to Bunny and his grip loosened on the boy. He lifted a furry hand to grip the side of Jack's face.

"Sorry mate, but I'm not just gonna hand you over to that lunatic."

Jack frowned and looked away before Tooth flew over him and hugged around his neck while cooing softly into his ear, trying to ease his upset state.

Bunny straightened himself when the boy stopped struggling and his ears perked up, straining to hear what was going on above the tunnel.

He could faintly hear North's battle cry and the obnoxious yelling of the Yetis.

His body jerked in surprise when he heard Flicker's muffled shouting. His heart began beating rapidly and he shot a nervous glance towards Jack.

'_I have to keep Flicker away from him.'_

Bunny got to his feet and began walking towards the tunnel's entrance.

"Tooth, take Jack to the Warren." He murmured.

Jack's eyes went wide and he latched onto the pooka's leg before he could walk any further. Bunny tried to shake him off but the boy took a deep breath and blew ice onto the ground, effectively freezing the rabbit's large feet to the grassy floor.

"Jack!" He hissed, body shuddering as chills ran up his spine.

"No way rabbit, if I can't go then neither can you." He smirked up at Bunny before floating up to his feet.

Jack looked at Tooth while Bunny cursed and tried to break the ice away with one of his boomerangs.

"We need a plan… is there any way we can send a signal to North and Sandy without Flicker seeing it?" Jack asked.

Tooth looked up towards the entrance and winced when she heard one of North's swords clash with something hard.

"They sound pretty busy!" Tooth mouthed.

"Jack! Unfreeze me, right now!" Bunny growled at the boy.

Both Jack and Tooth ignored him when they heard a loud vibration tremble through the ground above. Bunny's eyes met Jack's in a panic before they all froze in place.

An eerie silence fell around them.

Bunny held his breath and Tooth met his gaze, purple eyes wide with anxiety.

Jack's eyes searched the end of the tunnel. He had a bad feeling….

Then Bunny saw it. The air became a blur in front of them as the tunnel warmed up with searing heat.

"Watch out!"

Bunny struggled against the ice containing his feet when he saw fire flash before his eyes.

Jack was quick to react though, and he grabbed Tooth and pulled the two of them next to Bunny just before flicking his staff and creating a barrier of Ice to circle around them.

Tooth yelped in surprise as the fire surrounded them and Jack held his staff upwards, trying desperately to keep his shield from melting. Bunny ducked down a bit and kicked away from the ice that quickly melted around his feet.

Tooth was clinging to the both of them with one hand clutching Jack's sweater and the other around Bunny's arm. She stared upwards, eyes wide as nothing but burning flames filled her vision.

Then, just as soon as it had started, the fire stopped and Jack relaxed with sigh as smoked filled up the tunnel. He turned around to face his friends in concern.

"Are you guys-"

A flaming arm appearing out of a cloud of smoke and clamped down on Jack's hood before yanking him back towards the entrance.

"Jack!" Bunny reached out to the boy just before he disappeared into the entrance with a startled cry.

Bunny growled lowly in his throat before letting out an angry yell and charging into the workshop, leaving a shocked Tooth frozen in place behind him.

He leaped out of the hole in the center of the globe floor, but immediately had to jump back as a giant stone soldier charged passed him.

Bunny's gaze shifted about the room wildly as he tried to take in all that was happening.

Flicker had somehow gotten all of his glowing statues inside of the building and they were fighting with the yetis, trampling through tables and chairs and cracking the ground with their massive weight.

They yetis were bashing the soldiers with their fists and random furniture. They were equally matched in strength but the yetis were much faster.

The elves were scurrying around all over the place, trying to avoid balls of fire as they grouped together in their hiding places. Several of them were working together and carrying large buckets of water in an attempt to put out some of the fire that was littering the floor.

Bunny saw Sandy in the air towards his left. The little man's body was stained black from burns, but that didn't seem to slow him down as he summoned giant waves of sand to engulf a line of soldiers, sending them crashing to the floor with loud thumps.

North was on the other side of the globe. He was holding off three giant soldiers while slashing at them with his swords. The bottom of his coat was ripped and it appeared tarnished from the fire. Red walls of flames towered upwards, trailing across the floor and reflecting off of the giant globe they surrounded, practically swallowing it.

Then Bunny saw Flicker.

The demon was floating above the globe while holding Jack in the air by his throat. There was a wicked smile on his face and his body was completely ignited in flames, like a living candle.

'_He's stronger.'_ Bunny thought, ears shooting back defensively.

"It took me a while to find you. You're such a tease, Jack!" Flicker stated merrily as he licked his lips, squeezing the boy's neck tighter.

Jack struggled in the man's grip. His staff had fallen to the floor and he clawed at Flicker's flaming hands as they burned into the skin around his throat. He kicked his legs desperately, shooting out bursts of ice every time he did so.

Bunny was about to call out his name before he felt Tooth fly up from behind him.

Flicker chuckled as his little winter sprite squirmed between his fingers. He loved to see that pale skin redden beneath his touch.

He squeezed the boy even tighter and grinned as Jack let out a lovely gasp, breath escaping him. A delightful shiver ran up the demon's spine and he leaned over to plant a burning kiss on the boy's face.

Suddenly something sliced through his shoulder and he jerked back, growling in pain.

He looked above him to see the Tooth Fairy posed threateningly above his head, feathers ruffled and purple eyes glaring into his own.

"Let him go!" Tooth shouted as she zipped to the side of Flicker and spun in circles, causing her wings to slice through him just before her foot collided with the side of his head.

Flicker screeched as he released Jack and fell _hard_ onto the surface of the globe.

Jack gasped for air but was slow to recover and his body fell limply towards the floor.

Bunny leaped forward and caught him before he hit the ground. The pooka immediately cradled Jack in one of his arms as he stepped over him and reached for his boomerang with the other.

Jack looked around as he sucked in air with deep breaths. He spotted his staff on the floor and reached out to it, silently commanding the wind to bring it to him. It flew towards him and he snatched it in his hand before pointing it outwards in defense.

Tooth was patting the feathers on her leg to brush away the flames from kicking Flicker. Then she eyed the fallen demon warily and lowered herself so that she was hovering above Jack and Bunny, ready to defend them if the fire spirit went after Jack a second time.

Bunny heard North call their names as the large man pushed a statue out of his way and raced towards them, swords outstretched.

"Are you and Jack alright?" He asked calmly as he took a fighting stance and shifted to face Flicker.

"Fine." Jack croaked, trying to answer for them as he massaged the sore skin on his neck.

Bunny could see Sandy float over to them at his left. The dream spirit looked them over with worried eyes, before glaring at Flicker.

The demon of fire pushed himself up to stand on the surface of the globe while he gazed around the building, finding it oddly quiet.

The Yetis had defeated all of his statue warriors, which were lying across the floor in masses of broken rubble. Though, the Yetis appeared to have used up all their strength and most up them were resting on the floor, exhausted from their efforts.

Flicker shook his head at his fallen statues. _'What useless idiots.'_

The fire spirit skipped a few times with a smug grin before slowly pacing around the top of the globe in circles, eyes moving to stare at the Guardians who stood defensively in front of him.

"I see the peacock has joined the party." He chimed as his gaze wandered over Tooth.

He ran a hand over the side of his face where he had been kicked. The Tooth Fairy was a lot stronger than he had anticipated.

His eyes met Bunny's green ones and his gaze darkened.

"Oh, and the _animal_ is here, as well." He whispered.

That damn rabbit was standing over _his_ winter spirit. He growled threateningly and blew smoke out of his nose.

Bunny's eyes narrowed and his grip on Jack's waist tightened.

North stepped in front of Jack and Bunny while taking notice of how the demon's feet were leaving black marks on the elaborate script and designs of the globe.

He pointed a sword at Flicker's face.

"Why are you doing this?" North asked, voice surprisingly passive.

The demon chuckled and crouched down on the center of the globe, facing the guardians in a casual manner with his chin resting in his upturned palm.

"I think we all know the answer to that question." He snorted.

Yellow eyes lowered to examine Jack as the boy pushed himself out of Bunny's arms and took a fighting stance next to North, staff pointing forward.

Flicker cocked his head to the side and licked his lips, gaze running up and down Jack's body.

"Stop looking at him like that!" Tooth stated, feathers puffing out in anger. She glared daggers into the demon as he turned to look at her with a listless smile.

"Yeah, go find somebody else to harass, ya bloody freak." Bunny growled.

Sandy floated closer to them and punched his tiny first into his palm, golden face glowering at the man.

"Well, aren't you all _cute_." Flicker mused, gaze running across the five of them with a wicked smile.

"All the Guardians working together to protect their newest protégé, even though you all used to _hate_ him." He stated.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise while Tooth fluttered forward, brow furrowing.

"That's not true! We love Jack more than _anyone_." She barked.

"Don't bait to him, Tooth." Bunny whispered under his breath.

Flicker leaned back and seated himself against the globe as he cackled.

"Yeah, you do _now_, but not years before." He said.

His gaze met Jack's distressing blue eyes and he grinned.

"I know for a fact. The _sun_ told me so." He snickered.

North and Sandy exchanged looks and the dream spirit shrugged.

"Poor, poor Jack." Flicker sang in emphasis. "Wandering the world all alone with no memories, no family, nobody to love you."

Jack swallowed as a familiar feeling came over him. The pain he used to feel before he became a Guardian was something he hadn't thought of for a long time, and it made his heart ache to remember. _How did Flicker know?_

The demon smiled and felt a wonderful shudder run up his spine as Jack's beautiful face softened. He knew the boy was remembering parts of his past.

"For _three hundred years_, you tried _so_ hard to be seen, to be noticed. But you were invisible to people, and the Guardians just ignored you. They didn't care."

Flicker's face darkened and his voice lowered before he continued.

"Even if you reached out to them by making a blizzard on their special holiday." His yellow eyes shot towards Bunny and he could see the guilt in the rabbit's features.

_It was working._

"Do you remember how much pain you felt when the children could see all of the Guardians, but not _you_, Jack?"

Jack was looking at the ground now. His staff was lowered, almost touching the floor.

"Do you remember the days you spent crying?"

"Stop it." Tooth interrupted him.

She looked like she was about to start crying herself.

Jack raised his head and looked around at his friends. They were still staring at Flicker but the guilt was evident in their features. They were afraid to look back at Jack and see what kind of expression the boy held.

"Oh, but _now_ you want to be his friend!" Flicker leaned forward, yellow eyes bearing into the Guardians like flames.

"_Now_ you want to protect him, after the damn _moon_ told you to!" He shouted.

"Shut up!" Jack yelled.

Bunny jerked back in surprise at the boy's outburst and Flicker's smile faded.

Jack's eyes lit with rage and he smashed the bottom of his staff to the floor, causing a huge gust of icy wind to blow around the globe, putting out all the fire and dimming the room.

He pointed his staff at Flicker and glared.

"Don't talk to my family like that." He spoke darkly.

North smiled widely at the boy and raised his swords.

"Aye, we fight as one. If you want Jack, you have to go through all of us!" He boasted.

Sandy nodded and Tooth and Bunny exchanged confident glances. They shifted closer to Jack, as though to support North's statement with their own movements.

Flicker drooped his head and let out a dramatic sigh.

'_Well that didn't go well.'_

He leaped to his feet suddenly, causing the Guardians to jolt in apprehension. However, the flaming man simply stood in place and stared at Jack.

"Aren't you being a little selfish, Jack?" He asked with a frown.

Jack didn't move, but his brow furrowed and he gripped his staff tighter.

"You're going to let your _family_ get hurt just because of you?"

Flicker licked his lips and watched Jack's eyes nervously glance towards the large rabbit at his side.

"If you come with me, I'll leave them alone, you know. " Flicker whispered.

Bunny didn't wait for Jack to consider the request. He immediately chucked both of his boomerangs towards the man with a growl. The weapons swirled around the globe in the air before each of them met the center at the same time, slicing through Flicker's chest.

The man's body instantly disappeared into a cloud of smoke and a deep chuckling echoed from nowhere in the building.

The guardians shifted. Sandy hovered over to take a protective stance behind Jack while Bunny and North moved closer to the boy. Tooth flew right above Jack's head, shifting back and forth anxiously in the air.

"Be careful, he can appear anywhere." North warned.

Jack tried looking around but his friends' larger bodies were blocking most of his vision.

He didn't like this…he knew that _he_ was the prize and the way Bunny and North stood in front of him caused images of one of them getting struck by a blast of fire to flash through his mind. They would be injured because of _him_.

Then Flicker appeared, his face melting away in the center of a giant ball of fire that was headed straight for Tooth.

The fairy clenched her fists, ready to fight back, but Jack was quick to act and he leaped into the air and rode a gust of wind right above the fairy's head.

Flicker's yellow eyes followed the boy and his fire turned away from Tooth, just before it swallowed her. Instead, it raced through the building, following closely behind Jack as the boy shot towards the ceiling and directed the man away from his friends.

"Jack!" Tooth called his name and flew after him with Sandy right behind her.

Bunny and North started running towards the other side of the building, heads looking upwards the whole time.

The mass of fire was hot on Jack's heels and almost engulfed him before Tooth clipped the side of it with her wings before she zipped backwards to hover next to Sandy.

The fire halted in place. Then it began to ripple and expand with shudders.

Jack paused in the air to look back at it. He blinked in confusion as the fire began to morph and swell.

Sandy's eyes widened and he summoned as shield of dream sand to cover himself and Tooth just before the flames burst into an explosion, sending both of the Guardians flying backwards from the force of the blow.

The pressure hit Jack as well, and his body slammed hard into the nearest wall. He groaned and felt the wood crack behind him. He was about to fly down, but Flicker's menacing grin appeared in front of him. A flaming hand grabbed hold of the front of his sweater and ripped him off of the wall before launching him towards the ground.

Jack's body met the floor and the back of his head thumped hard against the cement, causing stars to dance in his eyes.

Bunny and North looked around wildly, searching the air for Jack and the others as smoke from the explosion fogged up the air.

Then Bunny spotted the boy on the floor. His stomach did a backflip when he saw Flicker hovering above Jack, holding something small and red in his fist.

'_The second flower.'_ The pooka thought. His heart was racing now.

Flicker straddled Jack's waist and pinned him to the ground by his neck. He lifted his arms back and squeezed the poor red petals between his fingers, ready to shove the plant down Jack's throat.

"Open up." He whispered and licked his lips.

Jack's mind was spinning and he was having a hard time making out what was happening while his head throbbed and a flaming hand cut off his air supply.

His eyes focused on the red flower that the man on top of him was now holding above his head, ready to ram it into the Jack's mouth.

Just as the boy stopped struggling and closed his eyes in defeat, the weight on top of him disappeared and he greedily breathed in air as his body fluttered downwards. His back pressed against something soft and he reached a hand down to feel it.

'_Grass…?'_

Flicker froze in place, staring down into the hole that had just appeared in the floor and swallowed up Jack's form. His brow furrowed in confusion just as he felt something dash behind him.

He looked up in shock when he realized the flower was no longer in his hand.

"Argh!" He growled and breathed fire out of his mouth as he looked around wildly, trying to find his beloved flower.

Then his eyes locked on the Easter Bunny.

The rabbit stood on top of the globe, holding the flower above his head with a cocky grin.

"Loose something?" The pooka asked.

North held up a sword and cheered for his friend from where he stood on the other side of the building.

Sandy and Tooth looked down at Bunny as they slowly recovered from their place against the ceiling. The explosion had knocked the wind from their bodies.

Flicker's yellow eyes literally caught fire as he glared at the rabbit on the globe.

He leaped into the air on a trail of fire and a giant wave of flames shot out from each of his hands and circled the globe, surrounding the pooka in a cage of fire.

Bunny held the little plant tightly in his fist, as it's petals started moving to try and crawl out of his grasp.

At the moment, Bunny didn't really care that Flicker had gone all freaky and was hovering in front of him like an evil demon. Nor did he care about the giant wall of flames engulfing him and denying him of any escape.

Jack was safe on the floor of one of his tunnels and he was holding the second flower in his own hands. _He was the one in control._

Flicker's face and hair branched out into a burst of flames as he hovered closer to the rabbit with his burning hand outstretched. He growled and opened his mouth to show a sharp row of gleaming teeth. He spit fire out with each word he spoke.

"GIVE IT TO ME!" The demon's voice was so loud that it filled the entire building and shook the walls.

Bunny stood his ground and simply smiled back at the flaming monster.

Then he lifted the flower above his head and dropped it down his throat.

"Bunny!"

The pooka could hear a combination of his friends voices call out his name, just before the demon in front of him screeched and crashed into his body, sending him flying backwards through the wall of flames.

Jack's eyes were wide from where he had his head peeking out of the tunnel.

His mind had cleared up enough for him to return, but the first thing he saw when his gaze passed the floor was the sight of Bunny on the globe as he swallowed the flaming red flower.

"No!" Jack screamed as he shot himself into the air and searched frantically for where Bunny had fallen.

The flaming mass of fire spotted Jack with glowing eyes and started after the boy with a loud roar. Sandy entered its path however, and snapped his whips in the creature's face before it could go any further.

The demon's flames disappeared from around him and his body fell to the floor with a _thud_.

Flicker tried to push himself up as he gazed down at his own body in confusion. He felt weak all of the sudden. _Why…_

He looked out of the workshop windows and saw the sun setting against the horizon.

He frowned and spit out an ember.

"Bad timing, Sunny." He grumbled.

His head snapped up in surprise just as North leaped in front of him with his swords pointed forwards.

The large man let out a fierce battle cry as he waved both his swords over his head and brought them down to cut through the demon's body.

Flicker used the last amount of his energy to disperse into a puff of smoke as the metal made contact then he reappeared over the man's head and began flying towards the window.

The Tooth Fairy flew by and clipped him in the side before he could make it. He growled in pain and clutched the wound as it bled against his shirt.

Tooth flew down to hover near North and Sandy as they watched Flicker flee towards the window. He looked back at them with a menacing glare before his eyes searched around for Jack.

He spotted the boy flying towards the fallen rabbit and he blew smoke out of his nose.

_He was pissed. _

But he knew he couldn't continue fighting now, and he broke through the window with his fist, causing glass to shatter and fall to the ground below. He flew off into the cold wind and disappeared within the snow.

Bunny's whole body ached as he slowly tried to push himself up. His chest was sore from the impact of Flicker hitting him and his head was spinning. He looked around in confusion as warmth began to blossom from within his stomach.

However, it wasn't a painful burning sensation. It was actually…kind of nice.

_It was weird but nice. _

He tried to call out to his friends, to make sure they were all right, but he soon found that his voice didn't work. Each time he opened him mouth to speak, all that came out was a soft breath. _'Why can't I talk?'_

He stood up shakily against the ground and put a hand on his warming stomach.

"Bunny!"

He turned when he heard his name and saw Jack running up to him. The boy looked panicked and worried.

"Bunny! Why did you eat the flower?" His voice was frantic.

Jack drew closer and examined the pooka with wide eyes, searching for any kind of injury.

"Are you okay? Are you burning? Do you need me to cool you off?"

Jack was asking question after question but Bunny completely ignored them.

He was too busy staring at Jack with cloudy, wide green eyes.

Jack Frost was _beautiful!_

Bunny's mouth dropped open and he gapped at the boy. He froze in place as his eyes inspected the wintery angel standing in front of him.

His surroundings started to go black as he focused on Jack's face, Jack's hair, Jack's lovely waist. The boy's eyes were a deep shimmering blue that glistened and reflected everything around them. His skin was bright and smooth, and p_erfect_, as though the moon had kissed it. His voice was fragile and soft like a lullaby.

His face was unbelievable, so beautiful and flawless, like nothing the pooka had ever seen. Green eyes lowered to take in a gentle and graceful neck. He didn't even notice the slight burns and scratches that littered the boy's skin as he focused on the lovely curves of the boy's waist and his gentle hips.

Bunny's hands twitched. He wanted to touch them.

His eyes looked back up and examined the boy's soft lips. He felt the heat in his stomach branch out and engulf his entire body.

_He wanted this boy…he had to have him! _

"Bunny?" Jack asked worriedly when his friend didn't reply.

The pooka was just standing there, staring at him with big eyes. He looked like he had just seen something amazing, something that had left him frozen in awe.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

He yelped in surprise when the pooka stepped forward and grabbed onto his waist before pulling him against the rabbit's furry chest.

"Heh, what are you doing?" Jack laughed nervously as the rabbit planted his face in between the boy's head and neck. His nose twitched as he inhaled Jack's scent.

The rabbit's body shuddered. Jack smelled _amazing_ and it caused a rush of heat to run down his spine, towards certain sensitive areas.

Jack chuckled when the Pooka's whiskers tickled his neck. "Bunny, cut it out."

The rabbit ignored him and pulled the beautiful boy closer. His hands pawed at Jack's chest and waist before slipping under the blue sweater to grope at the boy's cold skin.

"B-bunny?" Jack asked, becoming startled by the pooka's actions.

The rabbit licked his neck and Jack shuddered as the rough texture of his tongue sent shivers over his skin.

"Bunny! What are you _doing_!?" Tooth yelled as she suddenly flew towards them. Her purple eyes were wide with shock.

Bunny ignored her and continued to caress Jack's body as the boy tried to push him away.

Then a large hand wrapped around both his ears and he was tugged backwards roughly as North towered over him, examining the pooka with confused and curious eyes.

Jack stumbled away from them, panting. His heart was pounding and his body had become very cold, causing frost the bloom out onto the floor around his feet.

Tooth flew over to him and hugged him tightly, while whispering sweet comforting words into his ear.

Sandy and North both stared at Bunny, who was trying desperately to escape North's grasp and return to Jack.

The rabbit had an odd look on his face. His eyes were half lidded and his lips held a stupid, dreamy smile.

North looked at Sandy but the dream spirit shrugged.

"This flower is very different from the first." North said.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Bad news though, I have to start writing a research paper on cosmetic surgery so I probably wont be able to update so quickly anymore.**

**Thank you all for reading and hopefully I'll finish my paper and get back to upload more chapters. :)**


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